Second Nature
by ProfeJMarie
Summary: You can't really change what is in your nature, can you? Booth, Brennan, and Hannah discover their original and second natures.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

He had barely shoved Hannah away in time to safety as he felt a quick, searing flash of pain pass along his neck.

His gun pulled him around first and his heart plummeted down to his stomach as he saw Bones come out of nowhere, right into where the line of fire had been.

"Bones! _Bones!_ _Get down!_" He yelled with a mixture of anger, frustration, and fear. She kept running towards him and before he realized what was happening, Karnick had grabbed her and put his gun to her head.

Looking down the length of his arm down to the end of the barrel of his own gun, he analyzed the situation.

"Don't do anything stupid, Karnick," he said calmly, which slightly contradicted the firm set of his jaw and the steely expression which flitted to Bones' eyes momentarily, willing her to heed the same advice as he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

Karnick remained wordless, his eyes narrowing in rage as one arm wrapped around her neck with his hand gripping her chin. The other hand shoved his pistol very firmly jammed up against her temple. Booth recognized Karnick as being especially dangerous. He had become desperate and this move on his part only clarified that. Desperate people held little reason. Booth wasn't optimistic about Karnick backing down and could only hope that he could take him down without anyone getting hurt.

Karnick had cocked his gun by now, causing Booth's heart to speed up exponentially as he tried to use reason.

"It's only drug trafficking right now and evidence is circumstantial at best, right? You just grabbed Bones 'cause you got scared – it's a dangerous, unpredictable neighborhood out here. I mean, she could have been the look out for Alonso and his gang, right?"

Karnick's grip tightened around Bones' face, causing her to give an involuntary cry of pain. Booth's eyes narrowed and his face became taut with anger. He could see the change in Karnick's expression as well as he reacted to Booth's resolve. Booth knew that the key was timing; shoot too soon and he would cause Karnick to inadvertently fire his own weapon. In rapid succession he alternated continually between Karnick's face and hand. In the split second that he recognized what he was looking for, Booth fired.

Karnick's head went back, causing his arms to follow. Bones flung him off and ran to Booth, reaching him at the same time as Hannah.

"You all right, Bones?" Booth asked her, gripping the sides of her shoulders.

Bones shrugged him off impatiently. "Booth. I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about – "

Booth turned to Hannah, who was looking oddly fuzzy and out-of-focus.

"Hannah," he said heavily.

"I'm okay, Seeley. We did it." Her voice sounded fuzzy and shaky, too. "We got the bad guy. But, babe, _you_ are not okay."

Booth was beginning to believe her as he started to slowly sink to the ground. Hannah helped him lie down with his head on her lap. Booth found himself staring up at Bones, who was holding her jacket against his neck with tears in her eyes, telling him to hang on, reminding him vaguely of another time and place.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

Hannah breezed through the door with her usual confident energy. Booth embraced her tightly followed by a long, tender kiss before happening to notice the familiar shape and pattern of the frames perched atop her strawberry blond waves.

"Hey," Booth raised his eyebrows up at the sunglasses and plucked them off of her head. "Bones has a pair of shades just like these."

Hannah smiled knowingly. "Not anymore, she gave them to me."

Booth gave her a confused look. "She just gave you her sunglasses? I don't get it."

"When I was in the hospital I was educating Temperance on the cultural customs of bringing presents to people in the hospital so I suggested she could give me her sunglasses." She eyed Booth to gauge his reaction.

For his part, Booth only shrugged and chuckled. "And she just handed them over? Just like that." Hannah gave him a winning smile in acknowledgement, causing Booth to laugh again and grin at her impishness. How did she do that? No wonder she always got her story. If she could wrap Bones around her finger so quickly, she could do anything.

"So, do you want to hear about what I found out from Emilio today?" she asked in the tone that Booth had come to recognize as her cat that caught the canary tone.

Booth leaned in close to her again with a twinkly smirk. "Bingo, baby?"

She laughed in sheer pleasure at his guess. "Bingo baby indeed. Emilio told me that he thinks a deal is going to go down tomorrow afternoon."

"And is Emilio part of the decoy "public disturbance" call that will bring our dirty cop out?"

"You got it. And _I'm_ going to get it all on camera."

"So, Emilio sets off a fight, someone calls it in, our dirty cop, Karnick, just happens to be nearby. Then Emilio gets Karnick's partner, Gates, to chase after him allowing Karnick and Alonso to do their business under the guise of apprehending him."

"Emilio and Alonso are arrested but –" Hannah continued.

"—there isn't enough evidence to hold them, so they go free." Booth finished. He caught Hannah's excited look. "I told you this would be fun, didn't I?"

Hannah gave him a nod and smiled demurely. "I admit, it is more satisfying than I thought it would be."

Booth swung around behind her and wrapped his arms about her waist as he put his face alongside hers. "We can make a good investigative team, huh?"

She leaned back into him and held his arms to her as she inhaled his scent. She would never have thought herself to be one to be so taken with a man such as Booth, an unexpected mix of male dominance and sensitivity. She was usually the dominant one. She had worried that he was going to go over the deep end when she had gotten shot in the leg two weeks ago, but he had surprised her with his concern for her job and his offer to help her with the story. She supposed it came from working with a strong, intelligent woman like Temperance. The way Seeley had always talked about her one could tell that he really had no influence on what she did or thought. She like that about Temperance, although, after much observation, clearly Seeley _did_ have influence over her and his deference to Temperance in so many situations indicated a similar influence that she had over Seeley, as well.

Booth had laughed off the sunglasses story, but to be honest, Hannah really had no idea what had possessed her to actually take them from her. She did not want to admit that there might be jealousy or competition, but in a weird paradox of feelings, she had a great affection for Temperance when she would look out for Seeley and his feelings, but it also irritated the hell out of her when Temperance kept giving her "warnings" to not do the wrong thing by him.

Just the other day she and Temperance had been sharing a story about Seeley's propensity for wanting to take care of everything himself. Hannah was teasing the fact that Booth insisted on changing her wiper blades himself instead of paying a little extra when she got her oil changed later that week. While Temperance laughed with her about it, it rankled her a little when Temperance added, "You should let him do those things. It makes him feel needed and that makes him happy." The unsolicited advice made her feel resentful of the assumption that she didn't know these things herself.

If Temperance wasn't so plainspoken, she might have guessed there was more to her attitude towards Seeley than she let on. When all was said and done, Hannah simply wasn't sure _how_ she felt about Seeley's partner of five years. But, she knew how she felt about Seeley, so she trusted that Temperance was on the up and up with everything.

Seeley's voice brought her back to the conversation at hand. "So, what time do we go bring this guy down tomorrow?"

Hannah broke away from his embrace to turn towards him. "What do you mean, _we,_ Seeley? Surely you're not planning on coming along? This is my story."

"Which I helped you uncover. Plus Bones and her team have made some progress on their end, too."

"Hold on. Temperance 'and her team' have been making progress? With what? There haven't been any dead bodies or murders, Seeley."

Booth was taken aback by Hannah's tone and grew defensive. "I don't understand; I thought you'd be happy that we're helping you uncover the truth about what's going on. Isn't that what you're job is all about?"

And there it was again. The feeling that she couldn't quite identify or explain. The feeling that made her get on Seeley's case even when he was probably right. She normally would use any resource possible to get at the truth of her story. It was actually something they had in common about their jobs.

"Yeah," she replied in an ameliorating tone. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I was just surprised, is all. What are your people at the Jeffersonian doing? How can they possible help?"

Booth massaged his face as though to work away his confusion and frustration. "Bones and Angela have been trying to construct a simulation – a re-enactment of the shooting. Using your x-rays and your description of what happened, Angela thinks they can determine more precisely the distance and angle of the other guy. Hodgins has been trying to sift through dirt and stuff from the area where the shooter may been and Cam is seeing if we can get any more info about the gun that fired the bullet." He paused and awaited her reaction.

"So you're trying to get forensic evidence so that you can arrest this guy."

Booth straightened his shoulders and looked at Hannah earnestly. "Well yeah. I mean, don't you want to get him?"

Hannah studied him. "I want to get him for my story. I want the whole story, not just the piece that happened to me."

"Hannah," Booth edged in close to her and cupped her face with his hand. "This guy shot you. I can't let that stand."

She gazed back into his tender brown eyes, melting uncontrollably into his warm hand on her face, and brought her own hand up to his face. "I know. In some ways I really love that about you, which is why I will let you come with me tomorrow. But _only_ if you can try _not_ to look like an FBI agent and stay out of the way."

He chuckled. "_Let_ me?" He moved in even closer, noses almost touching. "Oh, I was _always_ going with you as soon as you mentioned it."

Though a part of her railed against it, another part of her did like Seeley's fierce, protective nature. As much as she loved her independence and the adventurous thrill of chasing down a story, it was a reassuring feeling to come home to the safety that his mere presence instilled.

"Oh, is that right?" Hannah challenged.

Booth stared into the eyes that reflected back at him and felt a comfortable warmth spread through him. "That's exactly right," he said with a smile before pulling her to him into a passionate kiss.

Hannah returned the passion. Yes, Seeley knew how to take care of things. She only hoped he wouldn't get in the way and take _over_, instead.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

She held Seeley's head in her lap and watched his eyes go in and out of focus, his breathing coming in short gasps. There was so much blood and she didn't know why that should affect her so deeply as she had seen so much worse in the war zones. But that's where it was supposed to be. This wasn't a war zone. _Damn it, Seeley,_ she thought to herself; she couldn't seem to get any sound to come out of her throat, _you can't die now. Not here. Not like this. Not when I just started seeing possibilities._

A faraway voice was calling her name. And it came again, but what was wrong with them? Couldn't they see she was busy?

"_Hannah._" The voice was louder and accompanied by a touch on her arm. She looked up and suddenly realized it was Temperance, right beside her. Hannah's eyes snapped into focus and she concentrated on Temperance, forgetting to wonder why she was there in the first place, and what she was saying.

"I need you to keep holding this as tightly as you can right here against his neck." Her voice was hoarse from tears and a struggle to keep panic at bay. "He's going into shock and I'm going to find a way to raise his legs."

Hannah nodded dumbly to show she understood and took over with the compression. How did it get so bad so quickly? She saw that he had caught some of the bullet, but it had seemed like it had only grazed him. He had been in such control. And where had Temperance come from? Why was she here? She looked back up at her to see her speaking angrily with Gates.

"Where is the paramedic? He's an FBI agent – don't they know that? You need to find a blanket or something else warm _right now._"

"And my partner is – was, a cop," Gates spat back. "You think I don't understand the situation?"

"Well then _help_ us, _Officer_ Gates," Hannah had found her voice. "Or a federal agent's death will be on your head and you can be damn sure I'll write about this moment that we are having right now." She re-focused on Seeley's ashen face and tried not to think about how Temperance's jacket seemed to be getting saturated. Temperance had found a wooden crate to slip under his legs and had grabbed hold of one of Seeley's hands as Gates came back with a blanket from his squad car as well as a first aid kit. Hannah didn't see how anything in the measly kit could help, but she looked on as Temperance dug in. Not for the first time, Hannah was grateful for the vast expertise of Seeley's partner.

His partner.

Like a vehicle airbag being released in a head-on collision, this realization buffeted her with as much force and speed. It had been what Seeley was trying to do with her. He wanted Hannah to be his partner. And what had been her response? She had been so guarded and territorial; she hadn't assessed the potential benefits.

Though only a few minutes had passed, it seemed like a lifetime until she finally heard the sirens and then blinked at the flashing lights. Where everyone had scattered, now became a flood of paramedics, police officers, and detectives. Temperance was giving the paramedics a stream of information about Seeley's condition including his blood type. His blood type. Hannah would have had no idea of those details. All of those unsolicited pieces of advice from Temperance? It was because she knew Seeley so well – seemingly inside _and_ out.

They were partners.

Temperance was putting up a fight about being able to join the paramedics in the ambulance, citing that it was the logical and rational decision based upon her knowledge of his medical condition up until that point. A tiny part of Hannah wanted to smile at Temperance's attempt to rationalize away her desire to be near Seeley. Hannah didn't know if it was her experiences in the war zones or what, but it did not occur to her to even ask permission to ride along with them. Reporters – "war correspondents" – were never allowed. Police detectives were detaining them, anyhow. Hannah managed to make her way over to Temperance.

"Temperance." She touched her arm. "Is he going to be okay?"

Her expression was an agonized one. "I don't know. I did everything possible to –"

"You did." Hannah interrupted. "You probably saved his life."

Temperance's eyes filled with pain. "He saved both of our lives."

The two of them stared at each other in silence, unable to adequately express their feelings to one another in spoken words.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

Booth woke up to Hannah whispering in his ear and with kisses that should have been against the rules when saying good-bye instead of hello. He tried to keep her longer by embedding his hands in her soft waves of hair, but had no luck.

She grinned at his attempts. "I'll see you this afternoon. I gotta do my good girl White House correspondent job right now."

"I'll pick you up," Booth mumbled sleepily.

"No way. We _cannot_ show up in Anacostia in your SUV that screams 'FBI'. I'll pick _you_ up."

Booth grudgingly agreed and rolled over to go back to sleep. Minutes later, however, his phone rang. He looked blearily at the caller ID: Bones.

"Booth," he answered with irritation, knowing though, that she wouldn't even notice.

Bones skipped any greetings and went directly into the purpose of her call. "Booth, Angela and I have found out some very important evidence surrounding Hannah's shooter. Angela and I determined that given the angle the bullet hit Hannah's femur and the trajectory –"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Bones. Slow down a sec."

"You sound agitated, Booth. What is wrong?"

"What's wrong?" he asked incredulously. "What's wrong is it is 'oh-dark-thirty' and you're spouting around facts about angles, femurs, and tragedies."

"I don't know what that means, but perhaps you can make sure you are ready to go within the next twenty minutes and I can pick you up and explain our findings on the way to the lab."

"Pick me up? Why doesn't anyone want me to drive today?" Booth wondered aloud to no one in particular.

"Maybe it's because you're agitated with the oh-dark-thirty. I don't understand. Who else doesn't want you to drive?"

"No one, it's just – never mind, Bones. Fine. I'll see you in twenty minutes." He hung up and dragged himself out of bed and took a quick shower. Anticipating the undercover operation that afternoon, he skipped shaving, and got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He was beginning to feel apprehensive about the meeting with Emilio. Something didn't feel right and he was having a hard time narrowing in on the snag. He pocketed his badge, but left behind his FBI issue weapon in favor of this own, which he strapped to his ankle. Finally, he grabbed a hooded sweatshirt.

After supplying his pockets with his usual items, he went in search of his watch, which he found next to the phone in his living room. He paused as he placed his hand on the antique handset and absorbed the feelings that always knocked into him when he stopped in front of it. His initial pleasure to Hannah's housewarming gift was still there, but became complicated, which almost made him chuckle now, as he considered how often he gave the answer, "it's complicated" to Bones.

When he first saw the phone with the bow on it he had immediately recalled the conversation with Bones. She had, in typical fashion, pointed out the impracticalities of such a phone and accused him of being a Luddite, which fortunately he remembered what that was. But when he had explained how he liked what it represented and talked about Pops, her eyes had softened in that way they did that always proved how warm and full of heart she really was. She had smiled and asked him for more stories about his grandfather.

Seeing the phone had made him feel safe and secure. Finding out that Hannah had taken the time and money to find it for him gave his heart a jolt. She had told him all about how Bones encouraged her to find it for him. It was a bittersweet feeling to realize that Bones had suggested and described a gift that demonstrated how well she knew him, but Hannah – well Hannah actually followed through and got it for him.

So, it was complicated.

He poured himself a quick cup of coffee and downed it before he heard the knock on the door.

"It's open," he called out. Bones came in and Booth offered her some coffee, which she accepted.

"So, Bones, what's all this geometry stuff?" Booth noticed her surprised expression. "What? I took math in school. I know what an angle is," he said sarcastically.

"I _hope_ you would know what an angle is. Actually, I didn't know if you were fully awake when we spoke on the phone, so I am surprised you remember what I started to tell you."

"Bones, I'm _always_ on the alert. I just wanted to be fully clothed before you rattled on and on about squinty details. I feel, you know, more prepared that way."

Bones gave him a look that indicated she thought he was a bit strange, but proceeded to fill him in on what she and Angela had discovered. "The angle that the bullet seemed to hit Hannah's bone was at about 85 degrees vertically from the top of her femur, which," she started to demonstrate the angle with her hands, "given the realistic hypotenuse –"

"Bones," Booth interrupted. "English, please."

"I thought you said you knew about geometry."

"Right. Geometry of angles and – just, just cut to the chase, okay?" he replied impatiently.

"Booth, are you sure you're okay? You really seem tense."

"I'm fine. Just – talk to me as we drive to the lab, okay?" He caught Bones still looking at him with concern and he exhaled deeply.

"Hannah and I are going to meet this guy this afternoon and we think Karnick is going to show his hand, and then we'll be able to get him. I just need you and your squints to do what you do so I can nail him." Booth locked up and they made their way down to Bones' car.

"Are you worried that Hannah will be in danger again? Because I am very surprised that she wants you to come along with her. She seems to resist your interference most of the time."

Booth gave a sardonic smile at Bones' observation. You didn't need to be intuitive to get that right. Hannah was pretty vocal about Booth butting out of her business. It had been delicate enough work getting her to let him help with her current investigation. "Yeah, of course I'm worried. I mean, if Karnick is already resorting to this extreme to protect himself, who knows what he'll do next."

"We still don't know for sure that it _is_ Karnick," Bones reminded him as she pulled out of Booth's driveway.

"Oh, it's him, alright. I just can't prove it, yet. That's why I need your team to help me out. So. Tell me, in English, what you've got."

"Given the velocity and distance, the angle that the bullet entered the bone indicates that the shooter was about 5'8" or 5'19"."

Booth shook his head. "No. No – Karnick is at least six feet. That can't be right. Could the distance be wrong and affect that in any way?"

"No. Not according to where Hannah was. Based upon this evidence, Karnick did _not_ shoot Hannah."

Booth grit his teeth and shifted in his seat. "I don't accept that. There has to be some other explanation."

"You're getting agitated again. I've notice that when the evidentiary facts don't align with your guesses, you become very upset."

"Look, they're not guesses, alright? Karnick and his partner, Gates, have an unusually high rate of answering disturbance calls in the area with an equally high rate of charges being dropped right afterwards. Hannah has found out from Emilio and some other guys that Karnick is usually the one that directly engages with Alonso or others while Gates is always "checking things out". Karnick has a history of roughing up suspects and insubordination. Financials show unusual activity with Karnick's account."

"Are you allowed to look into his financial records when you're not officially investigating him?" Bones asked.

"Well, I've got my other ways of finding out that kind of information. But that's why we need the evidence so that we can open up an official investigation. It's him, Bones; there's another explanation for the bullet."

"Booth." Bones parked the car in her spot in the Jeffersonian garage.

"What?"

She put her hand on his arm. "We'll find out the truth. I know how important it is to you."

Booth looked at her and felt her sincerity touch him. Her straightforward, honest approach always calmed him. He gave her a small, reassuring smile. " I know, Bones. Thanks."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

They had started the I.V. of fluids for him. They cleaned, packed, and dressed the neck wound. They listened to her as she related all of the events surrounding his injuries and gave them his medical history. They transferred him to a gurney and covered him with a blanket. They thanked her for the information and praised her for her effective treatment and quick thinking.

And then they pulled him away, her hand slipping from his as he was lifted into the truck.

Fear and sadness threatened to overtake her and the person who would normally help her manage those feelings was battling for his life. She was on her own.

"Temperance," Hannah touched her arm. "Is he going to be okay?"

She had almost forgotten that Hannah was still there, too, and considered how she had let both of them down. She hadn't done enough to help Booth get the facts he needed. She hadn't gotten there in time.

"I don't know. I did everything possible to—"

"You saved his life," Hannah interjected.

"He saved both of our lives," she responded and wondered if Hannah fully understood that. Did she know that Booth giving himself completely to her meant he would give his life, too? Did she know that Booth would always try to protect her whether she liked it or not? Did she understand that he _needed_ to do it?

Police detectives interrupted her thoughts in order to begin sorting out the course of events. There were many questions, not all that she had the answers to. It didn't take long to realize that the presence of an off-duty FBI agent in a situation that resulted in a police officer's death was going to be problematic.

"Dr. Brennan, what were you doing here?" the detective asked next.

"I came because I had crucial evidence for Agent Booth and Ms. Burley. Obviously it was crucial enough to risk his life. I would like to go to the hospital now, to be with him. I'm done answering questions." She watched as he conferred with the detective who had been questioning Hannah. He nodded and Brennan needed no further signal. She turned on her heel and started to head for her car before she paused and pivoted back to ask Hannah if she would like to ride with her to the hospital.

Hannah nodded. "Yes, thank you. I'd like that."

Brennan noted for the first time the blood on Hannah's clothing. Booth's blood. She tried to imagine what Hannah was feeling, something that she really wasn't very good at doing, but conjectured that if she herself was feeling anxious, then Hannah must be feeling at least as anxious since she was in an intimate relationship with Booth. Even though she was not feeling in full control, herself, she knew that Booth would want Hannah to be okay, so she tried to take on a reassuring tone with Hannah.

"Booth is very strong, Hannah. If he has not lost too much blood and if the internal injuries are not too severe," Brennan's voice started to crack as she choked back her tears, "then he should be just fine."

Hannah reached out to grasp Brennan's hand and squeezed it. "You don't have to take care of me, Temperance," she said. "I'm a big girl and I know you care about Seeley, too."

"He's my partner," Brennan said.

"And your friend," Hannah added. Brennan only nodded.

At the hospital they found out that Booth had been taken into surgery. The bullet had passed through his neck, grazing an artery, which later tore, explaining the sudden onset of the severity of bleeding. He had lost a lot of blood and his vital signs were weak, which was not a positive condition for surgery, but the repair was urgent. Brennan focused on the details and asked more questions. Which artery had torn? Where, precisely, had it torn? Did the bullet hit any bone? What about the surrounding soft tissue?

The doctor was patient and thorough and Brennan found herself calming down the more she focused on the facts surrounding the victim's injuries.

Victim. Not just a victim. Booth. Her breathing came in shorter, heavier gasps. She didn't understand why she was having such a hard time compartmentalizing the facts from who the "victim" actually was. Booth would probably say that it was because now it had just gotten personal.

And it was. It was Booth. It was Booth.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

Cam met them as they walked into their wing of the Jeffersonian. They exchanged greetings before Cam jumped right into business as they made their way to her office.

"The bullet was not a standard .38 caliber. It is designed to work in standard .38 pistols, but we found markings along the tip of the bullet not congruent with D.C. ammunition."

Booth rested his hand on his hips. "So what does that tell us?"

"I've seen this before and we're lucky that we found the markings at all. There's a reason they are at the tip. Usually that part gets worn away on impact, but because of the angle of entry, one side of the bullet was unaffected."

"You said you've seen this before. What does that mean?" Booth asked.

"It means your guy Karnick has his hands in more than one mess."

Booth exhaled heavily as Bones interjected, "But this is still not direct evidence that it is Karnick."

Booth started pacing impatiently, trying to piece together the critical evidence. Everything in him knew it was Karnick, but he couldn't quite connect the dots. He needed something compelling in order to open up a formal investigation. Of course, then there was the hurdle of rationalizing why the FBI should be involved with yet a further complication that would allow him to lead it up. Maybe he could justify it with Bones' help. They could go through Hacker. They needed more evidence, _now_, though. They needed to be fully armed going into the situation this afternoon.

"Booth," Cam said with concern. "You look like you're ready to climb the walls. What's happened?"

"He's been very agitated since I picked him up. He says it's because he's nervous about Hannah and her meeting with one of the gang members, but I think there is more than that." Bones confided.

Cam gave a small smile in Bones' direction before turning back to Booth. "Well?" she asked directly.

"Well what?" Booth stared back at her.

Cam rolled her eyes at him. "Is there more than this meeting that has you worked up?"

Booth's expression tightened as he pursed his lips and started pacing again. "Something just doesn't feel right. This whole situation feels off, somehow."

"Hey," Cam put her hand on his arm to still him. "Why don't you just call her?" Booth looked at her with an appreciative gaze and glanced briefly at Bones before pulling out his phone.

Though she was not entirely certain why talking to Hannah now, when she was not in a dangerous situation should help, Brennan did feel anxiety about Booth's tension and when he snapped his phone shut and walked back to them she responded in the best way she knew how.

"Booth, there is still a lot to be learned from what we have. Maybe Hodgins has something useful from the soil and gravel we collected from the scene."

He gave a short nod. "Right. Let's go see him." He strode toward the door, but then paused and turned around. "Thanks, Cam."

Cam gave him an understanding nod in return. "I'll keep working. Maybe there is some way to trace the origins of the bullet. I can poke around with some of my D.C. contacts."

Booth gave her a wave and ushered Bones out with him.

"Did it help to talk to Hannah?"

Booth sighed and looked away. "You know – she's – she's fine." He looked back at Bones who gave him a tilted expression of inquiry. Booth continued. "She snapped at me to stop checking up on her and to let her do her job." Bones didn't say anything as Booth babbled on. "She was interviewing some senator or something. I mean, I'm just being paranoid, right? I shouldn't have interrupted her for my irrational concerns."

"While I prefer that you be guided by facts and logic, I have also come to realize that your instincts often prove to be correct often enough to warrant the idea of listening to them as reasonable indicators of what is going on around you."

Booth stopped and gave her a cocky smile. "Did you just tell me that you trust my gut?"

Bones looked at him blankly. "No, that would be ridiculous, Booth. I'm saying that, statistically speaking, your intuitive leaps prove to be a partially-reliable form of circumstantial evidence in an investigation."

Booth grinned and bumped her shoulder with his. "You trust my gut. Thanks, Bones."

She smiled and shouldered him back, deciding that it was useless to try to convince him that his own interpretation was not quite right and conceding that perhaps it didn't matter.

"I'm sure Hannah will come to understand, later, that you meant well by calling." Bones brought the conversation back around to the original point.

Booth pocketed his hands. "Yeah, right. Maybe." His eyebrows furrowed as he worked something out in his head. "Bones – Bones. What if someone was with Karnick when he fired on Hannah?"

"I am not certain how that would affect the scenario."

Booth grabbed Bones' arm and raised it to just below eye level. "What if Karnick had been aiming higher," he swallowed hard, attempting to ignore the implications of that statement, "but someone came and knocked his arm down and away as the shot went off?"

Bones considered the possibility of Booth's theory. She suggested they change course to go see Angela instead, so that she could input the data into her simulation program she had already created for the other scenarios they had considered.

In her office, Angela initially showed Booth the results of the calculations they had made based upon the angle and trajectory of the bullet. Bones explained Booth's new theory, which didn't fit, but did spur more possibilities.

"So, basically we need Karnick to be shorter, is that it?" Angela asked.

Bones looked at her disapprovingly. "What?" Angela responded. "That's pretty much what we're doing, right?"

"We are trying to find the truth of what happened, not change the facts."

"But if the facts, when moved around, still give us the truth, then we've got our guy, right?" Booth cut in.

Bones pursed her lips and confessed, "I find that what you said doesn't _sound_ right, but will grant that your argument is sound."

"Right, then. So, can we move on now?" Booth asked in irritation.

They debated several possibilities until Angela found their most likely alternative. "What if the other person with Karnick –"

"Like Gates," Booth said.

"—forced Karnick down in the effort to lower his weapon?" Angela finished. She plugged in new numbers into the system with incredible speed and came up with a simulation that showed someone reaching for the gun and forcing the shooter to his knees. The shooter, lowered in height combined with his arm still slightly raised with the other person holding it resulted in a viable scenario.

Booth clapped his hands together and gave Angela a smile. "You are amazing, Angela."

"Oh, I know. You have no idea." She responded smoothly. Booth winked back at her with a knowing smile.

"Booth, this still isn't absolute proof. The original simulations still hold truth, too." Bones felt compelled to add.

"Yeah, you're right, Bones, but now we have more, right? Maybe Hodgins can find something that links to this latest scenario, right? Fibers or something. Let's go talk to him."

Before they left, though, Booth's phone rang.

"Booth."

"Seeley," Hannah's voice answered. "Change of plans. Emilio texted me to say that something changed – there's something big going down soon. I'm headed over there, now."

"Wait, something's not right. It sounds like a set-up."

"Then maybe I'll catch a bigger story than I originally thought. Look, I have to go – I'll call you later and fill you in, okay?"

"No, wait, Hannah –" Booth started in, but she had hung up. "Damn it!" Booth snapped his phone shut in frustration and noticed that Cam had come in.

"Look, you guys, I've gotta go. Hannah's contact just changed the game and I don't like it."

"Booth," Cam's serious tone caught him before he headed out. "One of my contacts told me that the bullet we're looking at is almost surely from Anton Escala."

Escala was, for all practical purposes, at the top of the food chain for weapons and drug trafficking. Things were looking bad, but still was not enough hard, solid evidence tying Karnick to it all. He cursed and punched the wall.

"It's not enough, but I gotta go with what I have and hopefully Hannah can get more out of Emilio – provided nothing happens before I get there." He realized he didn't have his SUV and turned to Bones. "Bones, I need your keys."

"I'll come with you."

Booth set his jaw and gave her an unmistakable expression that she had become more than accustomed to over the years as he replied. "No. I need you to stay here and work this angle. We need the final, definitive nail in the coffin." He maintained his measured gaze until she relented and handed him her keys. He gave an acknowledgement and, feeling more tense and uneasy than he had all day, strode out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's note:**_

_**Special thanks to corgipaz for insights that kept this chapter in keeping with what it needed to be as well as for her encouragement and the kind words that reflect who she is.**_

_**Also, special thanks to Hart Hanson, whose words from S04E26 are quoted within.**_

_**Chapter 7**_

She sat in a chair next to his bed and simply stared at him, waiting for when he would awake. The surgery was successful, but she was nervous since the last time he had gone under anesthesia he had taken days to emerge from a coma and then, of course, suffered a great deal of disorientation and other related complications. Her heart refused to slow down. Surgeons told her they used alternative methods with pre-anesthetic medications that had proven successful with similar patients, but this still did not alleviate her anxiety; there were no guarantees.

Hannah had stayed for a while, but grew nervous and decided to try to file her story to calm herself. Brennan had assured he that she would stay and notify her as soon as Booth woke up.

Everything had gotten so muddled since coming back from Maluku. She had left in order to gain perspective over her life and her relationship with Booth and instead felt only more chaos. Correction. Her feelings underwent chaos, but this directly resulted from the clarity of a single realization: her life, perhaps even her happiness, was inextricably linked to Booth.

She had been wholly unprepared for the vice grip around her heart upon learning about and then later meeting Hannah. Perhaps she had not realistically considered that Booth would find love in Afghanistan, but logically speaking, it would seem that Booth would be able to find love anywhere. It was in his nature, as solidly as wanting justice and laying down his life for others was in his nature. It was foolish of her to think that things could pick up again just like they had never left. Irrational.

And yet, that was exactly what she had expected, had hoped. She had chastised herself over and over again for thinking that she would be any less worried about Booth when she was away from him. His safety had been a part of her thoughts at an almost alarming frequency. She had asked him to not be a hero, to not be him, but he did not and could not have promised such a thing any more than she could have promised Booth that she would follow her "gut". And so she spent a ridiculous amount of time reassuring herself that Booth was extremely good at what he did; that statistically, she could expect Booth to survive based upon his skill and experiences.

Except that she also had statistics to tell her that Booth would risk his own life whenever necessary. In spite of the odds that she felt were mounting against him, he had returned unharmed, which made this situation all the more wrenching. He was who he was, as was she.

Memories of her last hospital visit seeped into her mind. Her deleted words haunted her.

_What life is she leading? Is it the same life the woman was living a half hour ago? A day? A year ago? You love someone; you open yourself up to suffering. The thought of losing so much control over personal happiness is unbearable._

Her nature may be unchanging, but her life did not follow the same pattern. She had come to realize that she was unable to stifle the burgeoning emotions inside her. She loved Booth. She was _in_ love with him and everything had taken a wrong turn.

She was not living the same life she once was.

But neither was he.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

Booth made his way to Bones' car. While driving out of the parking structure he tried phoning Hannah again, only to be dumped directly into her voicemail. He cursed loudly and accelerated. God, that woman was fearless, but what the hell? What was she doing? Maybe it was his fault for pushing so hard to help; this was the only way to get him off her case – which meant he probably shouldn't follow her now except he knew she was in danger. The whole damn thing was his fault. "Let's wait and lull him into a false sense of security," he'd said. More like give Karnick time to cover his ass and develop a plan.

He had not been on his A-game with that suggestion. Hell, he hadn't been on his A-game since coming back from Afghanistan; at least it sure didn't feel like it. Everything had been so much simpler over there. He detested it, but at least there were no mysteries, no grey areas, no dancing around things . . . no Bones. Well, no Bones that was constantly flooded into his personal space anyhow. He had been able to breathe. And then he met Hannah and he felt like he could not only breathe, but also breathe in fresh air. Hannah was a gift, a surprise that made him feel he could move on after all. She was strong, intelligent, open, and uncomplicated.

He couldn't believe it when she had shown up in D.C. to be with him. He might not have called it love before, but he loved her for that gesture and had been doing everything he could to prove it, to make sure she knew how he felt about her. It had felt good to have someone to come home to and who took him at face value. It was, however, imperfect. He was okay with that, though. It was working. If he did things right, she might stay. She might completely fill the hole that still gaped inside his heart.

Infringing on her story was _not_ doing it right, but there was no turning back now. He couldn't risk her safety.

Brennan turned to Angela after Booth left and told her she was going to see Hodgins. Booth had been fairly oozing tension and she began to sense an urgency in his quest for factual evidence. As uncomfortable as it was to use his words, she had indeed come to trust his "gut" and if his behavior just minutes ago was any indication, she knew he needed the supporting facts as soon as possible.

"Dr. Hodgins," Brennan started in immediately upon entering his office. "I need to know if you have anything that can help Booth with his investigation into who shot Hannah."

"On it Dr. B." he replied with an excited glint in his eye. "I found dark blue cotton-polyester fibers, a piece of glass, and bits of white marble chips." He paused in expectancy.

"Hodgins, I don't have time to play your guessing games. Booth needs our information right now so please just tell me what everything means."

Hodgins straightened and became serious. "Right. So, the fibers match the fabric usually found in D.C. police uniforms, the marble chips are most commonly found in suburban D.C. neighborhoods and all three items had blood on them. DNA matches Karnick." Hodgins handed Brennan a copy of the notes.

"Good work, Hodgins. Thank you," Brennan told him as she turned to leave and tried to phone Booth. There was no answer and she left a message, but couldn't help but start to worry. She ran into Cam while making her way back to her office.

"Dr. Brennan. We have a match for the bullet – or at least we can confirm that it is one that Escala produces."

"Cam," Brennan said as she took off her lab coat. "I have to get this information to Booth; he'll want to take Karnick into custody right away and he's not answering his phone."

"Are you sure you should be going out there? Booth seemed pretty clear about you staying behind."

"Because he needed me to get the evidence and now I have it."

Cam considered a moment before agreeing and gave Brennan her keys. "Take my car and stay safe."

Hannah hung up on Seeley with a degree of guilt. She had actually known about the change for an hour, but had been undecided about telling Seeley at all. To a certain extent she loved how excited Seeley was to be a part of this investigation and she couldn't deny that he was extremely good at it. It was definitely one of the many attractions of Seeley Booth. But his overprotective nature could be a bit stifling and she hated to admit it, but there was a tiny bit of her that just did not want to share this with him. It was her first truly exciting story since coming to D.C. and she had happily moved there to be with Seeley, but he already had the high-octane job with Temperance. For some reason, she felt like she had to prove herself to him.

In the end, she knew she needed to tell Seeley, but she had decided to hold until the last minute so that he might not be able to make it. But it couldn't really hurt that he knew where she was – just in case.

To calm his nerves Booth tried to piece together the people and what he was probably going to encounter once getting to the rendezvous point – provided that it was even the same place. He'd already scoped out the usual haunts and drop points for Alonso's gang over the past couple of weeks, so even if the place had changed, he figured he'd still find them. Alonso, Emilio, Escala, Karnick, Gates. Alonso would likely not be visible – at least not until he knew Karnick and Gates were about to show. Emilio was acting as an informant, but it was unclear whether or not Alonso knew of this. Emilio had started talking to Hannah when Karnick's deals started to take a turn towards an arms market. Alonso's gang was hard-core, but really only in drugs and a few other lesser offenses. Gun trade had never been their thing. Apparently Karnick began putting pressure on Alonso. It was an almost incongruous twist for Alonso to feel trapped and despite the ridiculous idea of Booth "protecting" Alonso, he'd rather do that than let a dirty cop get away with what Karnick was doing. A guy like Karnick caused Booth's teeth to grind in disgust.

Gates remained the mystery player. Looking at the files he was able to access with minimal oversight, he seemed less likely to be in the inner circle. At minimum, though, he was looking the other way because there was no way he didn't know _something_ was going on. Knowing Escala was involved upped the stakes in that Karnick could easily be in deeper than he could control. Escala wouldn't be there today, but his presence would be felt through Karnick which is was what set Booth most on edge. The "new" game plan might very well be orchestrated by Escala, who had his own contacts and henchmen. If Escala knew Hannah was sniffing him out, she was in imminent danger. Booth's knuckles whitened as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. So much for staying calm.

He pulled into a spot near the corner just outside the neighborhood. Before getting out of the car he made sure his gun was at the ready in his ankle holster. He took a second to focus and got out of the car. He strolled the area casually, pulling out his phone with the guise of being more involved and unobtrusive. The area was mostly quiet, and this generated more suspicions for him. No major disturbances meant a hushed up scene where Hannah was concerned. Booth preferred the blatant threats and attacks. The back of his neck prickled and heightened his senses.

Booth rounded the corner and had to stop himself from reacting to seeing Hannah in conference with whom he assumed was Emilio. As he got closer, he realized that it was actually Alonso, which set the gears in motion inside his head. He paused to fake a text in his phone, then re-started his saunter down the street towards Hannah, chancing a glance in her direction and caught the fear in her eyes. His heart rate skyrocketed as adrenaline coursed through his veins and he rapidly developed a plan. He eyed his surroundings, searching for hidden lookouts. Deciding that it didn't matter where anyone was, he passed Hannah and Alonso, then spun around and landed a back-elbowed punch along the side of Alonso's face knocking him off-balance, allowing Booth to pull him away from Hannah. Alonso swung around, knife slashing through the air in his right hand. Booth dodged the first wave, then caught Alonso's wrist with the return and slammed it hard onto his knee, knocking the blade to the ground. Booth did not pause and in a single fluid motion yanked Alonso's arm around behind his back and slammed him down on the hood of the car.

"Hannah," Booth called over his shoulder, "you okay?"

She came up alongside him. "Yeah, I'm okay. Nice timing, babe."

Pleasantries were cut short when they heard a voice call out, "Yo, Burley! Who's the hotshot bodyguard? Guess you didn't get the message last time, huh?"

Booth saw Karnick up the street and watched him pull his gun out. Booth reached down for his own while moving to get Hannah out of the way.

He had barely shoved Hannah away in time to safety as he felt a quick, searing flash of pain along his neck. His gun pulled him around first and his heart plummeted down to his stomach as he saw Bones come out of nowhere, right into where the line of fire had been.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

Booth suddenly stirred, causing Brennan to rise to her feet to be at his side. His eyes opened slowly.

"Hey Bones," he said simply and gave a slight smile.

She grabbed his hand, relief flooding her voice as she replied, "Booth, you woke up this time. I was so worried because after last time—"

"I'm okay, Bones," he interrupted, "I'm okay."

She looked at him with a doubtful expression, taking in his usual pattern of shrugging things off. "Booth, you don't have to say that to make me feel better. I am fully aware that you are probably not 'fine'."

He gave a chuckle, followed by a quick wince. "Well at least I know I'm not dreaming this time, after that explanation."

She allowed him an acknowledging smile. "I should call Hannah. She's been very worried about you and I said I would call her as soon as you woke up." She started to reach for her phone, but Booth pulled her hand back.

"Just – just wait a second on that, okay?"

She looked at him uncertainly, but agreed. "What's wrong? Don't you want to see her?"

"Yeah, yeah I do, but I just want to ask you something first."

Bones' heart yielded an unnatural and annoying pang. "What is it?"

"Karnick." Booth's eyes searched hers and she glimpsed something familiar in his expression that caused her to pre-empt his question with the answer she knew he was looking for.

"Everything you thought about him was true. He was guilty. We have evidence to prove it." It wasn't quite relief that passed through his eyes, but she observed that some of the pain had receded. "But we can talk more about that later. You need to rest and I really should call Hannah."

"Yeah. Yeah, that would be good."

Bones started to turn away to call, but Booth grabbed her hand yet again. "Thanks for staying with me Bones."

"I wasn't going – "

"No." Booth said, his eyes soft and almost vulnerable. "I mean, before. Thanks for staying with me."

Brennan's eyes locked with his and she noted with irony that his strong hand wrapped around hers made her feel safe and secure in spite of the fact that he was the one in the hospital bed. Somehow, she could not say that it had felt impossible to leave him or that there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for him so instead she simply said, "Your welcome. I'll call Hannah and the others."

He gave a slight nod as he broke eye contact and released her hand. "Yeah. Right."

Bones made her phone calls and Booth noticed stray locks of hair kept dropping down the side of her face that she had to keep pushing them behind her ear. Her clothes were rumpled and stained with what he assumed was his blood. He drifted back into his own head while waiting. He had almost gotten two of the people closest to him killed today. And then he killed a cop.

Right. That was enough reminiscing for today, he thought. He tried to analyze how he felt physically. The bullet passed by his neck, apparently taking more of it with it than he thought. There was something about tearing and surgery and he figured he probably should be more concerned about these details, but found he just didn't care all that much. What he did care about was that bruise he spied on one side of Bones' jaw that escaped his notice at first. His stomach tightened and he swallowed hard as though to force the knot to burst free and release his guilt. If he hadn't put so much pressure on her to get him the evidence she wouldn't have even been there. If he hadn't turned his damn phone off –

The sight of Hannah rushing into the room thankfully cut off his inner monologue. Thank God, he thought. Who wants to be alone with these thoughts? She looked tired, but her smile shone through and was infectious. He smiled in return.

"Hey, babe," she swooped in to give him a kiss and he held her there to lengthen it. Uncomplicated. Hannah simply, _was_. Hannah chuckled as they pulled away from each other. "So I guess you're alright, huh?"

"Just a scratch, right?" Booth said nonchalantly.

"_Not_ just a scratch." Bones interjected disapprovingly. "We are not fooled by your attempts to undermine your injuries."

Hannah nodded in agreement. "Your partner's right, Seeley." He didn't know why, but it unsettled him to hear Hannah say 'your partner'. "You can't build an immunity to gunshot wounds, right?" She smiled at him coyly as he smirked back. "But in seriousness, promise me you'll allow yourself to recover? I'm going to be on you about it." She leaned in close to him and whispered in his ear. "I was really worried about you." She touched her forehead to his and rested her hand on his face while he squeezed the hand still in his own.

"You need a lot more than this to take down Special Agent Seeley Booth," he joked quietly in return.

It wasn't meant for her ears, but Brennan appreciated the words nonetheless. She needed to be reminded just how strong he was in order to tamp down the fear she had experienced that afternoon. Watching Booth and Hannah now made her realize that she no longer belonged there. She considered excusing herself, but opted for just slipping out unobtrusively.

Booth glanced over at Bones briefly as she walked out and tried to ignore the pang that flit through him as she disappeared from his view. He quickly re-focused on the woman in front of him and tried not to think about where she was while he was in surgery. She didn't keep him in the dark.

"I was a nervous wreck waiting for you to wake up. I couldn't sit still. I think I would have made Temperance crazy if I had stayed. That rational side of her can sure handle it better, I think. I called in the story so that hopefully there wouldn't be further questions."

Boot wanted her to explain what she meant, but a nurse came in to check his vital signs and give an overall exam to ensure he was satisfactorily responding to and recovering from surgery.

The nurse peeled his bandage back to check for any signs of infection and found the incision area to be clean so far. She told him the surgeon would stop in later in the evening and she predicted that he'd only have to stay in the hospital overnight, provided he was able to return home to a low-stress environment to reduce the chances of straining or re-tearing anything. Hannah assured her that she would make sure Seeley followed all the directions that she and the doctors set forth.

As much as it made him feel good to hear Hannah talk about him that way, he found himself still stuck on her words earlier about more questions. He worried that she was going to get in trouble for his actions. And what about the Jeffersonian? He'd used his relationship with them to encourage them to use their resources. It had all seemed well and good when he thought they'd just be able to incriminate Karnick and arrest him; now he had endangered so much more. Now there was a dead cop; it didn't matter the circumstances. He should have realized the implications right from the start from when Hannah had gotten shot. Not only was he not on his A-game, but was more like on his F-game. He took a deep breath and told himself to get a grip. No one had mis-used resources. He had made sure of that so he could just relax on that front. But, it was time to get the whole story of what happened that day; there were a lot of gaps, yet. He needed to talk to Hannah and Bones.

"Now," the nurse told him, "you apparently have some questions to answer. We've got a couple of law enforcement types that have been waiting around out there. This young lady, here, has been telling me all about her amazing, tough, FBI boyfriend that saved her life, so I want to make sure you're up to seeing these guys before I give them the okay to come talk to you."

Well, so much for getting the other stories, but if that speech wasn't enough to bolster him, he didn't know what would have been. Booth assured the nurse – Edie was her name – that he was good to go, which wasn't entirely true, but knowing that Hannah had talked about him like that gave him confidence.

Executive Assistant Director Hacker was among the small contingent to come in and he was looking serious, which Booth recognized as being a bad sign for him. Things weren't going to go down easily. With Hacker were Executive Assistant Director Cane and two detectives from the D.C. Metropolitan Police.

"Agent Booth," Hacker started, "how are you doing?"

Booth shrugged, "Been better, but I'll survive and be back to give you more grief soon enough." Hacker allowed him a brief grin before becoming serious again.

"Agent Booth, you of course know Assistant director Cane and these are Detectives Rosen and Thornton. We are working at trying to keep them in full participation as we close this case." Booth nodded in understanding. He would have expected nothing different. Hannah had slipped in by his side and grabbed his hand. He appreciated the solidarity, but knew what was going to happen next.

"Ms. Burley," Director Cane told her, "I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside while we conduct our interview with Agent Booth."

"I don't see why-"

"Hannah," Booth interrupted gently, "it's alright. I'm a federal agent, they have to do it this way."

Another voice broke in on them not so gently. "Cherie, don't you worry your pretty little reporter head. I _can_ be here and will take care of your boy."

Hannah wasn't sure if she should be annoyed with Caroline Julian's description of her or happy that Booth was going to be well represented. She looked at Booth who just gave her a conspiratorial smile and said, "It's usually best to just go along with whatever she says." Hannah gave him a quick kiss and made her exit, trying not to be worried. Truth be told, though, she was not at all sure of how this was going to turn out.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

"How're you feeling, cher?"

"Just peachy, Caroline. I could run a marathon, win a boxing match, and bust out a hockey game." Booth answered cheekily. Caroline just gave him an acknowledging "mm-hmm" and demanded to the others that she needed time alone to confer with her client.

"Caroline," Hacker placated, "Booth's not under arrest."

Caroline simply rolled her eyes and replied, "_Two_ Assistant Directors from the FBI and the Metro PD with their chief surely breathing down their necks tell me otherwise. Now scoot, y'all." She gestured them away. "We won't be long. Shoo." Reluctantly, the four men did as they were told.

"I need an abbreviated account of what all mess you've gotten yourself into Seeley Booth. What have you been up to that ends with a dead police officer?"

Booth summarized the details of Hannah's investigation and his cause to be involved. "I don't know, yet, what actually went down between Hannah and Alonso; all I could see was that she was terrified and he was holding her too closely. Turned out he had a knife at her side. And Bones . . . I don't know where she came from, either, but suddenly Karnick's got her in a vice grip with a gun to her head."

"There was no negotiating with Karnick? Come clean, cher, I need to know all of it if I'm gonna help you out of all this." She eyed him closely.

"This guy had Bones at gunpoint. Protocol says I can take him down however I see fit in order to secure the hostage's safety." Booth returned firmly.

"And there was really no way out?" Caroline prodded. The silence following her question was brief, but the weight of tension that traversed it was palpable.

Booth's expression hardened as he answered flatly, "I saw it in his eyes, Caroline." She held his gaze and assessed what she saw in his eyes, heard in his story, and combined it with what she knew of him and locked her decision. Without breaking eye contact, she put a hand on his arm and nodded.

"Okay. Let's get this over with, but keep your answers short and sweet, got me cheri?" Let's not give them cause to believe that there was anything about this situation to warrant any undue attention."

She went to call the men back in. Hacker reiterated that no arrest was being made, however, it was his prerogative to have legal counsel. "Booth, I know you understand that this is regulation."

"Yeah, yeah, of course I get it. Let's just get on with it, okay?" Booth tried to mask the irritation he was beginning to feel. Acting antagonistic would not work well right now. He tried to get a read on everyone. The detectives were wary of him and seemed to be mistrustful of the whole situation. He couldn't blame them. He could imagine how hard it would be to find out another law enforcement officer – a federal agent, no less – killed a colleague and simultaneously find out that same colleague was a crooked cop. There was no satisfaction in the end result for that. Hacker – well, he was pretty sure he didn't need to worry about Hacker and felt that he might even be in his corner. It was Cane that mildly worried him. Cane had a reputation for being a hard-core, by-the-book agent. Booth didn't really take issue with that, but knew he was going to have to be clear about his role regarding his use of time and resources and even clearer about the hostage situation.

"Sweetie, how are you holding up? How's Booth doing? What happened?" Angela rushed over to Brennan followed closely by Hodgins and Cam. Angela's expression was full of worry and compassion as she put her hands on Brennan's arms and gave her a gentle squeeze. They were in the guest lounge down the hall

"Ange, I'm fine, Booth is going to be all right, and I told you, he was shot." Brennan answered her questions in quick succession.

Angela gave a doubtful chuckle. "Bren, honey, you are not fine and I meant what happened as in _how_ did he get shot? Cam said you took her car to go meet Booth with our findings?"

Brennan told them about how she saw her own car parked near a corner and that helped her determine which direction Booth probably headed. "I saw Booth pushing Hannah away while hearing a gunshot."

"Where is Hannah? Is she okay?" Angela asked.

"She's fine – she's with Booth right now." Brennan did not elaborate and opted to simply continue with her story. "When Booth had turned around I saw that he was bleeding and tried to get to him," her voice gave the slightest of catches as she went on, "but Karnick pulled me to him and held me at gunpoint."

"Oh my God, Bren, is that how you got that bruise on your face?" Angela questioned.

Brennan instinctively brought her hand up to her face at the mention. She had almost forgotten what had caused the expression to change so ominously on Booth's face when he and Karnick were gun to gun. Though not the expert on reading people, even she could not mistake the transformation from controlled gravity of the situation to a tempered rage that she had rarely seen on him before. "Yes, I guess so. Booth had to kill him and by then he had lost so much blood . . . " her voice trailed off. Angela pulled her into a hug while Cam and Hodgins came forward and offered their support as well.

Hannah left Seeley's room trying to sort out her feelings. She was not a highly emotional woman, but being with Seeley always seemed to raise everything to the surface. At first, in Afghanistan, it had been just passion and joy. Upon following him to D.C. there was tenderness, confidence, and hope added in, but rapidly fear, jealousy, pain, and worry threw themselves into the mix as well. She had never felt such a broad range of emotions with someone before and it almost frightened her, which was a further blow since she rarely felt afraid of anything. Experiencing the force and strength of Seeley so rapidly followed by a vulnerability put her into a slight tailspin, but she felt like she was starting to right herself again.

In truth, she felt thrown by her own need to flee and hoped that she would not have done so if Temperance had _not_ been there. As it was, however, she trusted Temperance to stay while she herself re-grouped in the way she knew best: to get her story out, to do her work. In spite of what she may or may not have been feeling about Temperance, she felt that she had understood Hannah's anxiety and solution. That in and of itself initiated the return to equilibrium. In the process she was able to siphon away some of the stress while making sure Seeley's sacrifice was not in vain. And now, an official investigation. Was it her fault? Is this why she should have re-buffed Seeley's plans to work together in the first place? She sighed. No, she did not really need to remind herself that this result was _not_ really the reason she had wanted to keep his involvement at arm's length.

Hannah came upon Temperance, Angela, Cam, and Hodgins in the waiting area with her eyebrows still knit together in worry. Angela, with her kind, sympathetic eyes, noticed Hannah right away and came to embrace her. Back at the crime scene she might have cried at the crushing kindness that this gesture exuded, but with her emotions a bit more in check she managed to simply accept Angela in relief and gratitude.

The two women separated but clasped hands. "Thank you for that," Hannah told her.

"How are you doing?" Angela asked.

"I'm okay," she responded truthfully. "I mean, I wasn't, but I think I'm okay now." She looked around warmly at these people who so obviously cared about Seeley and had welcomed her as a part of his life. She didn't know them well, but felt that she could. She liked that.

"Who is with Booth?" Temperance wanted to know. "He doesn't like to be alone in hospitals."

Hannah brushed away the twinge of jealousy over the ownership that Temperance's tone conveyed and reminded herself of a five year partnership that she and Seeley had which allowed for that tone. Hannah answered with unease, though, given the circumstances of Seeley's current "companionship" in his room. "He's not alone, but his company is not good. Two assistant directors from the FBI are there as well as two detectives from the Metro PD. They wouldn't let me stay while they questioned Seeley."

Hodgins spoke out first with a scoff. "Yeah, that figures. We expose a cop neck-deep in crap and they'll try to figure out how to cover it all up. Booth's no liar, though, I don't know how they would convince him to stay quiet."

"Hodgins, I don't think that's it," Cam squelched him. She turned to Hannah again. "This is because Booth killed a cop, isn't it? And that he was unofficially investigating him?" Hannah nodded. "We've got to call Caroline; Booth shouldn't be in there alone with them in this situation."

Hannah held up her hand to calm them. "She's already here. She assured me that she would look after him."

Cam gave a sigh of measured relief, but Brennan felt edgy and flustered. "But Booth didn't break any rules. He used vacation time and non-FBI resources to uncover his information. I _told_ the detectives all of this information before coming here."

"And then all of this lead to Booth killing a cop." Cam said flatly.

"To protect a hostage! He followed protocol!" Brennan tried to regain control of her breathing. What she was saying was rational, she knew, but for some reason it was coming out panicked. She didn't like the overly sympathetic gazes directed at her.

"Sweetie," Angela tried to calm her. "You're absolutely right. I'm sure it's all just a formality. You know how the government is with all the paperwork. I've seen how much time you and Booth have had to put in finishing up all the paperwork for the murders you solve."

"I'm sorry, Ange, but you can't know that. And Booth shouldn't have to pay the price for putting his life on the line yet again." Tears were forming and she battled against them.

Hannah put a gentle hand on her arm. "Temperance." Brennan looked up to see that Hannah did not look sympathetic, but rather understanding. She could also see that Hannah was worried, too and as much as it hurt to truly accept Hannah, it also seemed appropriate that she should understand her fear and pain for a man they both loved.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

The detectives and FBI directors filed out of Booth's room and he suddenly felt drained. They didn't ask any unusual questions, but it was clear that he was not off the hook, yet. Detectives Rosen and Thornton were most concerned about the evidence against Karnick and the suspicions surrounding Gates' involvement. Hacker and Cane, while interested in Karnick's antics, were more concerned with the possible involvement of Escala, the weapons dealer and the repercussions of one law enforcement agency being responsible for the death of a member of another law enforcement agency. It was not a good situation and the fact that Booth had been involved while _not_ under FBI-sanction was actually proving to be the larger complication, which seemed like a ridiculous turn of events to him.

Booth knew how to respond to the questions, but had to admit that it was reassuring to have Caroline present and have her step in when necessary, which hadn't been often, but came in handy when asked to elaborate on the decision to shoot Karnick. Caroline told them in no uncertain terms would he spell out his whole thought process on that. "He is a well-trained agent with a pristine record. All you need to know is that he did as any other agent would have or should have done in the same situation."

"Alright, cheri, I think you and I both know that you're not out of the woods, yet." She looked over Booth's pale face and watched as he let his head drop back against the pillow and close his eyes with a sigh. "We can worry more about that tomorrow, though. When's the last time you ate?"

Booth, still with his eyes closed, allowed himself a slight smile before opening them to respond. He kept his head back, though as some of the pain in his neck was starting to return. "I think I had an apple sometime this morning."

"Hmmpf. Let's take care of that before everyone starts crowding in here." However, she pressed the button for the nurse's station just as "everyone" started coming through the door. Hannah was at his right side, his injured side, quickly and slipped her delicate fingers into his long, strong ones. Caroline's request for a food tray had rapid results and soon he was feeling somewhat better as he listened to the mundane chatter around him. It seemed to be an unspoken consensus to avoid the reason they were all together in that room in the first place.

Not long into their visit, Brennan noticed that Booth looked a lot paler than before and his eyes were dull, as well. She imagined he was quite fatigued after so much activity so soon after his surgery. She felt she should have taken that into account before, but she hadn't really expected Cam and Hodgins to come when she had originally phoned Angela. "We shouldn't be here," she spoke out suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her curiously. "I'm sorry. It's just that, Booth must be exhausted and –"

Cam jumped in to help her out. "God, oh god, right. Dr. Brennan is right." She gave a worried glance at Booth, who really did seem to be fading. "We really should go. " She gestured with her thumbs by pointing out the door. "Booth, take care of yourself and we'll figure out the rest. You're not in this alone."

"Thanks, Cam." He gave them all a gentle wave as they filed out. Hannah stayed seated on the edge of the bed with Booth. Brennan paused. "I haven't spoken to Rebecca, yet. Would you like me to give her a call and talk to Parker?"

"Nah. I'll call a little later. Thanks, though."

"Booth, I – " she started uncertainly. Booth looked back at her with soft, puzzled eyes. "I'm sorry," was all she was able to really say.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Bones."

"I know. I meant I'm sorry about –"

"I know." Booth looked at her earnestly. Brennan gave a sad smile, turned, and left.

Booth released a small groan and Hannah gazed at him sympathetically. "You look absolutely beat, babe. Are the pain meds helping?" She brought a gentle hand along his shoulder and chest.

"Yeah, I'm just really tired. God, this has been the longest day." He let his eyes close. He started to feel the weight of exhaustion and the drowsy side effects of the medication slip over him. He felt the pleasant warmth of Hannah snuggling in close to him as she lay her head down next to him, just barely touching his shoulder.

"What did Temperance mean when she was apologizing?" Hannah asked quietly.

"Hmm? Oh, you know, she just knows how much I . . . I don't like ending things this way."

Hannah knew, also. He didn't talk about it much, but she did know that he was always trying to atone for the lives he took while he was a sniper. He had talked about how it was easier coming back to the military knowing that his mission was different this time around. She wondered how much more Temperance knew. Seeley was so guarded. She was used to pulling information out of people, but it was different with him. He was so open with her most of the time, but he often turned the tables on her when she would start to ask him more about his past. He was an interrogator, too, and knew well how to work that system.

"Babe," she told him soothingly, "I know you don't like it, but you did exactly the right thing. We all know that."

"Mmm," he mumbled back. "Yeah, I know." He drifted into sleep.

For her part, Hannah was trying not to feed into the feelings that were niggling at her, but when there was a mystery or cover-up, it was inevitable that she would have to pursue it. She witnessed an unspoken conversation that seemed to travel between Seeley and Temperance; took in what was in their eyes. Her instincts told her that Seeley wasn't deliberately trying to block her from things, but he had a lot of defense mechanisms in place. Would she have to be with him for five years to get past them, too?


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

"Bones, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to stop by my place, later." Booth noticed her standing uncertainly in the doorway of his hospital room as he worked to put on his socks. He grimaced at the realization that a person's neck was used more in everyday tasks than he thought. Why it should be so awkward to put on his socks irritated the hell out of him.

Bones entered fully into his room with a look of concern at his wincing as he tried to get dressed. "Should you be trying to do that all on your own, Booth? You don't want to tear anything."

"I can dress myself, Bones," he responded with exasperation. He looked up at her and saw her concern and his own expression relaxed as he asked her again why she was there.

"When I visited Hannah in the hospital after her injury, she told me it was customary to bring a gift. So I am bringing you a gift." She gave him a girlish smile and Booth gave a small chuckle as he remembered the story Hannah told him about the sunglasses. He stood to put on his shirt and grit his teeth as he wrenched his neck while reaching back to push an arm through. Bones set her things down on the bed and came to his aid, helping him put on his shirt and started to button it when Booth cleared his throat loudly.

"Thanks, Bones. I can do that part, now." He rapidly took over, trying to push away the images that had resurfaced throughout the night.

"It's early; I expected you to still be resting."

"Well, you know, the doc cleared me last night to check out today and I was getting antsy. Hannah brought be some clean clothes and went to get us some real breakfast while we wait for the final clearance." Antsy. That was one way to describe his desperate position to get out of that hospital.

The night before he had dozed until the surgeon made his rounds and declared him fit to check out the next morning. Dinner, pain meds, and the bit of rest helped restore a good bit of his energy and allowed him to encourage Hannah to go home, take a shower, and get a good night's rest. He'd called Rebecca and talked to Parker and then tried to sleep. Sleep worked for a while before dreams, nightmares, and other unwanted thoughts and memories invaded resulting in a long night with very little rest.

Waking up from surgery to see Bones right away had thrown him for more of a loop than he had wanted to acknowledge before, but last night on his own, amid pain-medication induced dreams, it all became a jumbled mess. Faces from his Ranger days as a sniper, Afghanistan, Karnick, Alonso, and the damn coma dream. He thought he had left that one behind, but here it was, butting itself in where it shouldn't be. And now Bones was busy dressing him. _Damn it._

"So what's this present you brought me, huh?" He pushed through the awkwardness.

She handed him a small bag and he pulled away the tissue to find a knight with a sword extended astride a white horse. He felt the corners of his mouth give way to the upward tugs.

"While Sweets' symptomatic analysis of your protective nature derives itself from a purely subjective, non-scientific approach, I found that his use of the term, 'white knight', when looked at anthropologically, provides a reasonable symbolic representation of your courage and protective nature." She paused as she seemed to consider her next words. "I was uncertain, at first, if you would respond well to this symbolic representation, but then I decided to … trust my gut."

He started to grin at this surprising turn of phrase for her, but noticed her serious expression with her head tilted, eyes full of warmth and apprehension, mouth at a crooked angle. _Oh god, Bones, please stop looking at me like that._ He felt himself being pulled into her eyes and fought to control his heart rate while becoming aware of the fact that she needed him to respond.

His voice came out soft and tender. "Thanks, Bones. You did good." _Stop. Change the subject. Do __something__,_ he told himself forcefully. He brought a hand to her chin briefly in order to direct it so as to examine the bruise on her cheek. "I'm sorry, Bones. I shouldn't have gotten you involved in all of this. I let you down, again. This should never have happened." That wasn't exactly the change of subject he was aiming for, but he couldn't help it.

Bones' eyes changed into pools of compassion. "Booth, I don't understand how you think you let me down. You were the white knight. You _saved_ my life. You saved Hannah's life. I was the one that didn't do the right thing. All I saw was that you were hurt and _I_ jeopardized the situation. Will you please stop blaming yourself? _This isn't your fault_." The force behind her words disquieted him and before he could re-group, another voice joined in.

"She's absolutely right." Hannah strode in with coffee and a box of doughnuts and set them down on the table before greeting Booth with a kiss. "This is Karnick's fault and Escala's, right? Isn't that the kind of thing you usually tell me? Why are you both playing the self-blame game all of a sudden?"

Booth gave a flat smile in return and exchanged a quick glimpse with Bones just before he turned away to return to the chair to sit down. He started to rest his head against his fist, but growled in frustration as arrows of pain shot around his neck and shoulders. He raised his head up again and closed his eyes in an attempt to regain control.

He felt Hannah's hands on his knees and he re-opened his eyes to find her kneeling next to him with a reassuring gaze. "Hey, we'll get you home, soon, and you can get some real rest and I promise that will help you feel better about the whole thing." Booth brought a hand down to squeeze one of hers. "I stopped at the nurses' station and they should have the paperwork all set and signed off by your doctor within the hour and I brought you some of those chocolate éclairs that you like so well." He couldn't help but chuckle at her attempts to lighten his mood and he reluctantly agreed with her.

Hannah offered Brennan a doughnut and apologized for not bringing an extra coffee for her. Brennan declined the offer. "I am not sure why you are apologizing for not bringing me coffee. I don't see how you could have known that I was going to be here."

"Bones," Booth whispered conspiratorially, "she's just trying to be nice."

Bones looked at him for a moment then nodded in understanding. "Oh, okay. Well then, thank you."

Hannah laughed light-heartedly and asked, "What made you decide to come by here this morning?"

Booth chuckled, "Well apparently, she learned from someone else, recently, that you are supposed to bring presents to people in the hospital."

Hannah smiled approvingly at Brennan and asked what she had brought for Seeley. Booth showed off his knight in shining armor figurine and Hannah commented about how appropriate it was. "Always swooping in to save the day, right?" And though she was smiling, Booth could hear an almost indistinguishable change in her tone with those words. It was too much to worry about right now, however. His brain felt like it had been operated on again instead of his neck. Everything was getting all scrambled. Hannah was definitely right about one thing. He would definitely feel better as soon as he was out of this damn hospital.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Author's Note: Special thanks to Mali Bear's Buddy for being an excellent sounding board for this chapter, leading me to where it was supposed to go.**_

_**Chapter 13**_

Something was definitely going on with Seeley. She couldn't put her finger on it and considered that it could just be pain and fatigue, but it seemed like more than that. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, but she couldn't imagine why he should feel such a weight. He was a clear-headed man who followed his instincts and always tried to do what was right. Surely doing the right thing shouldn't plague him so heavily?

She had only caught the last part of what Temperance was telling Seeley before returning to his room, but the emotional timbre behind the words was transparent with an equally visible effect on her partner. She had to stifle the urge to tell Temperance to go to hell for engaging Seeley in such an emotionally charged conversation when he was only on the cusp of really being ready to leave the hospital. He still needed rest. But she knew if she spoke too directly like that to her Seeley would jump in and defend her, which would upset him more than he already clearly was. Coincidentally, Temperance probably would have almost certainly agreed with her in her rational, honest manner.

Hannah opted for business to help turn things around, and not the emotional side of it, but rather the investigative side. Seeley needed some purpose and direction right now to distract him from whatever demons he was currently facing.

She turned to the table to pull out a couple of doughnuts from the box. "My story went to press this morning. It's getting a lot of attention already. With all of the evidence you and the Jeffersonian gathered and the events that transpired yesterday, I should be able to go after Escala. Did you see how fast Alonso took off?"

Brennan felt an unnatural urge to warn Hannah to stop talking and turn around as she observed Booth's not unexpected reaction.

He was on his feet and took a hold of Hannah's elbow. "What do you mean that you should be able to _get_ Escala? You aren't going anywhere near this one."

Hannah looked calmly from the hand grasping her arm to the irritated and slightly alarmed expression on Seeley's face. He quickly released his grip, but his expression did not change as Hannah replied, "I don't know what you're playing at, but it is not like you have jurisdiction over me on that one."

"I'm not _playing_ at anything. This isn't just a story, anymore. This has reached well into FBI territory, now. We already have Escala under investigation and that investigation has just reached a new priority level with Karnick's involvement. This is a whole new ballgame." Booth's expression remained tight. "And we might just have some say about journalists getting involved."

Hannah's eyes narrowed slightly. "I think I had a pretty big part in getting your FBI to that ballgame. In fact, I just scored the tie run, it seems to me. I've still got an in with Emilio and now I think I can work with Alonso."

"_Alonso?_ You mean the gangbanger who had a knife at your side yesterday? Jeez, Hannah, does the fact that you have now twice been almost killed in relation to this story mean nothing to you? There's no big cover-up anymore. Karnick is dead and Gates is going to be under investigation with Internal Affairs. We already know Escala is dirty. You may have tied the game, but you're on two outs, now. And that third out might end the game for you. What if I hadn't been there?"

"And what if I hadn't gotten you involved in the first place? This was _my_ story, Seeley. I shouldn't have agreed to 'team up." Hannah said in exasperation with mocking air quote gestures. "Maybe this isn't about finding the truth; maybe it's about you trying to swoop in and becoming the big hero."

She regretted it as soon as the words fell out of her mouth. A rapid succession of emotions flashed through his eyes – anger, pain, and perhaps betrayal? – he pursed his lips together tightly, then strode out of the room.

Brennan's heart ached as she saw Booth's defeated gait take him down the hall. She turned back to see Hannah's remorseful expression and found that she felt sympathy for her situation as well. How often had Brennan herself put that expression on Booth's face? How often had they had similar arguments? However, she was uncertain as to what she should do at that moment.

"I didn't really mean that – about being the hero. I . . . I don't know where that came from." Hannah said in a small voice.

"It's a part of who he is, Hannah. He's one of the most selfless men I know. His career may be on the line because of what he did for you and for me. I say this not because I think he was right to tell you what to do, but to explain why your last statement was not really very accurate."

Hannah gave a weak laugh. "Is that so?"

"Yes. I myself have found that Booth can be quite frustrating in his opinions about what I should or should not do, but also have come to realize that he does so out of a strong sense of concern for those he cares about. He loves you and is therefore quite worried for your safety."

Hannah didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Temperance's words and attempts to make her feel better. "He is very protective, but sometimes I find it oppressive." She paused to think about whether or not to share her next thoughts. "I've worked very hard to get where I am. I'm not really prepared to share my successes with anyone."

Temperance nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. It took me a long time before I found that I could really work with a team. I'm not . . . I'm not really good with people, but Booth has taught me a lot about working with others as well as the value of what we have in our partnership . . . " she trailed off, realizing that she had started to stray away from her original point.

"Do you think he really loves me?" Hannah asked.

Though Hannah thought she was unaware of it, Temperance's expression seemed to demonstrate a flash of pain and regret before she responded truthfully. "Yes. He says he does and I believe him."

Out. He just needed to get out. He found an exit to the stairwell and pounded his way down three flights of stairs then out through the lobby to outside. He was going to take a cab back home, but realized he didn't have his wallet with him. Anger and frustration bubbled up and made him crave a firing range or a good reason to punch someone. Instead he paced and as quickly as the anger had risen, it had fizzled away as he slumped onto a bench and reflected on how once again he had handled things wrong.

What was one of those twelve steps? To humbly ask God to remove his shortcomings. He sighed deeply as he considered how so many of his shortcomings came screaming out in the past couple of days. Had he learned nothing from working side-by-side with Bones all of these years? He can't rush her and get all dictatorial. He had to proceed rationally and carefully.

Except he was thinking of the wrong woman just now. It was true that with Bones he could not rush, even with facts that would seem to support his arguments. But this was Hannah. She had to know that he was right about the case and even understand why he was angry. However, he couldn't deny the pain caused by her comment about being the hero. Sweets considered it to be a flaw of sorts and he was a pretty smart kid. He considered the gift from Bones and how what had made him feel good for a moment suddenly morphed into something else.

"Seeley." He looked up to see Hannah's clear blue eyes gaze down at him in contrition. His own mirrored remorse and she sat down next to him and took his hand. "I'm sorry. I was upset that you were getting all 'cop' on me and I got defensive. I'm not used to someone who is so involved with my whole life. It's hard for me to let you into my world when I've had only myself to trust in it for so many years."

Booth gently traced the side of her face with one of his fingers. "I'm sorry, too. I know it's your story. I'm not trying to take that away, I'm not. But it's different now. The stakes have gone way up. It's not about being a hero, it's about proceeding in a way that we know works and decreases the risks to everyone, not just you." Hannah glanced away and seemed to acknowledge the truth in his words.

He continued. "I can't help it that I want to keep you safe. That guy had a knife at your side and I had to do something about it. And I can tell you right now that I do not feel like a hero after shooting a cop, regardless of what his dealings had been. There was nothing redeeming in that. Nothing."

"You're right." Hannah agreed. "And I don't mean to downplay your role in everything. I am alive right now because of you and so is Temperance. You may not see the redemption of your actions, but we do."

For a moment Booth felt calm and clearheaded. He gave Hannah a smile with a trace of it actually reaching his eyes.

"Booth?" That trace disappeared quickly as he saw Bones' worried expression as she walked up to them at the bench.

"Bones, what is it?" he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"I just got a call from Andrew, looking for you. He wanted to warn you that Gates has started talking and is giving a different story about what happened out at Anacostia yesterday. He's saying it was an execution."

"An _execution?_ That's crazy," Hannah said, incensed. "What about our statements? They can't possibly believe him?"

Booth shook his head. "Not so crazy. My girlfriend and my partner as witnesses? A prosecutor can tear that down with her hands tied behind her back." His whole body tensed and he became even more appreciative that Caroline had showed up when she did yesterday after all.

So much for calm.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14**_

Brennan, Hodgins, Angela, Cam, and Sweets were gathered on the lab platform as Brennan apprised them of Booth's situation.

"Whoa, _execution_ style? I mean, could Booth really have done that?" Hodgins speculated.

"Booth has a lot of deep-seated rage; I believe he could totally do something like that." Sweets corroborated.

"This speculation is a ridiculous waste of time due to the fact that I was present for the events in question and it most certainly was not an execution." Brennan put forth adamantly.

Angela rolled her eyes at Hodgins and Sweets while chastising them in annoyance, "This guy had a _gun at Brennan's head_."

Hodgins lowered his eyes apologetically while Sweets nodded quickly, "Right, sorry."

She turned to Brennan. "And, sweetie, Booth would have had every right to execute that guy."

"Let me remind everyone that an execution is a planned murder of someone which is not the same as killing someone in defense of another, _which_ is what Booth did and is what we now need to focus on proving with physical evidence." Cam interjected authoritatively.

Everyone agreed in muted tones. "Thank you," Brennan acknowledged Cam for the firm re-direction and the two held each other's gazes briefly.

"Okay, so where do we start?" Hodgins asked.

"Me," Brennan said. The others looked at her in confusion and she proceeded to point to the bruise on her cheek. "We have to move quickly on it, though. We need x-rays and photos so that we can possibly determine the amount of pressure exerted on my face as well as take measurements that might prove the positioning of Karnick's hand. There may be residual effects on either my zygomatic bone or ramus."

"And the skin discoloration can help verify the timing, as well," Cam joined in.

Angela looked ill. "Ange? You don't look well. Are you experiencing some morning sickness?" Brennan wanted to know.

"No, sweetie, I just don't like the idea that you are evidence. It doesn't feel right."

Brennan gave a half-smile, her eyes conveying her appreciation for her best friend's concern, but reassured her, "It's really okay and probably won't be enough information to really help, but we'll need as much solid evidence as possible. Booth would say that everything together might be enough to create the story that people need to have while weighing evidence."

Sweets jumped on her semantics. "A story, Dr. Brennan? Are you suggesting a manipulation of the facts? That doesn't sound like you."

Brennan backpedaled. "We will find evidence and facts that will exonerate Booth. I am merely interjecting that Booth would recognize that all of the facts put together will make the case stronger rather than isolating each piece of evidence."

"Right." Sweets nodded with a suppressed smile.

"So, we are still waiting for clearance to do an autopsy on Karnick so that we can examine the entry wound and impact which will help us determine the distance between Booth and Karnick." Cam added. "It will be easy to prove that Booth didn't shoot him in a direct execution style, but probably not much more than that."

"We need _more_." Brennan said forcefully as she fought the turmoil of emotions that kept rising to the surface as she considered the odds against Booth. She found that she did not want to think past what was in front of them, to the consequences should they fail. "Hodgins, is there anything to be gleaned from fibers, gravel, dirt – _anything_?"

Angela put an arm around Brennan's shoulders and led her away from the platform and into her office. "Okay Bren, take a breath and talk to me, okay?"

"I don't understand. What do you want me to talk to you about?"

Angela simply stared at her with a frown that indicated that Brennan's act of ignorance was not going to fly with her.

Brennan wrapped her arms around herself and looked down as she bit her lip before sharing some of her anxieties with her best friend. "I'm nervous, Ange. I'm nervous that we won't be able to find enough evidence to corroborate the actual events of yesterday. I'm nervous that the forensic scientists that we give any evidence we _do_ have will miss things that we would not." She began to pace. "I'm angry that my reputation as the best forensic anthropologist in the country isn't enough for detectives to trust my facts over the ridiculous story of a police officer who was involved with drug and weapons dealers."

She didn't say anything for a moment and Angela filled in the gap. "And you're worried about Booth, sweetie. It's okay to be worried about him. We all are. It's been a pretty bad 24 hours, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes," was all she said at first when she caught Angela's kind, compassionate eyes and thought about how she so easily admitted that she was "a little bit" in love with Booth back when they met at the diner together upon their return from Paris and Maluku. Then she considered her own feelings towards Booth and how she had been guarding them tightly inside. She wasn't sure there was a rational reason to tell them to anyone since nothing could be changed. Booth was with Hannah.

"Bren?" Angela probed. "There's more to it, isn't there?"

Brennan looked at her uncertainly. "Sitting with him, in the hospital, waiting for him to wake up . . ."

"It was like when he was in his coma after his brain surgery."

Brennan's eyes glimmered in sadness. "Booth almost lost his life to protect Hannah. He had to kill someone to save me." Her voice shook. "He hates killing people, Ange. It isn't right that he could lose his job or even go to jail for protecting me. We have to find the evidence."

"We will, sweetie. Hodgins and Cam are still out there and figuring out a plan to help us move forward even as we speak. And Caroline is the best there is, right? If any lawyer can get Booth out of this jam, it's her. And Booth, you know, he's strong and has his own reputation at the Bureau to help him." She looked at Brennan encouragingly. "How is Booth doing, by the way, with all of this?"

"He says he's fine, but I think he's just saying that so we won't worry. I don't know why he does that. He is experiencing pain from his injury and hasn't been able to get any rest. He and Hannah argued and while it appeared that they resolved their differences, Booth seemed as agitated as he has been for the past two days." Brennan didn't know how to truly convey how worried she was about Booth. She _felt_ like he was carrying an enormous burden, but how could she express this feeling when she wasn't even sure, herself what the burden was, had no tangible proof of it?

"Trouble in paradise, hmm?" Angela commented.

"I don't know what that means."

"It means that you are doing all of the right things and we're going to help you get through it, okay?" Angela gave Brennan's arm a reassuring squeeze.

"It's not me that needs help, it's Booth." Brennan emphasized.

"Okay, him too." Angela smiled warmly at her as Hodgins and Cam walked in.

"Okay," Cam started. "This is what's going to happen. We're going to do the x-rays. Then I just got off of the phone with Director Hacker and he has agreed to send an FBI team with all of us out to Anacostia. We're going to re-enact what happened and that will allow us to take any measurements and Hodgins can help scour for anything that could possibly help us. At that point we should be able to enter all of the data into the Angelator for digital evidence."

"I'll call Hannah. She should join us in Anacostia." Brennan took out her phone, feeling more confidence with the solid plan now in place. Facts would win out.

Booth awoke to his phone ringing and buzzing on the table next to him. Though still tired, he was already feeling better with having had a few hours of uninterrupted rest. He was stiff and sore and still experienced limited mobility with his neck, but he had a high tolerance for pain. He knew he could muscle through it easily enough. He reached over to his phone and checked the caller ID. An involuntary smile emerged as he answered, "Booth."

The concern in Bones' quickly wiped it away, however. "Booth? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, Bones, why wouldn't I be?" He answered in puzzlement as he rolled himself into an upright position.

"Hannah isn't answering her phone. I was worried that she might have had to take you back to the hospital." Brennan replied, her voice indicating relief at hearing Booth's calm tone.

"No, it's all right. I'm fine. Hannah's doing some thing with the presidential press core – I think they were flying out to California or something. She probably had to turn off her phone."

"She's not with you? I thought she was going to stay with you to make sure you were recuperating satisfactorily."

"Yeah – well, she got this phone call about the trip and I told her to go ahead. It seemed like a big deal." It was an abbreviated explanation, but he found he didn't really feel like going into details. Truth was that he sort of felt like he pushed her into going and now felt a bit guilty about it. To be sure she hadn't really put up that much of a fight; they weren't really skating smoothly through this most recent hurdle. He re-focused on the conversation at hand. "Why are you trying to get a hold of her? What's happened?"

Brennan explained the plan to re-enact the events in Anacostia in order to gather as much evidence as possible to help with his investigation. "Great, I'll be ready in a half hour. Meet you there?"

"_Booth_." The sudden high anxiety in her tone startled Booth.

"What? What happened? What's wrong?" He was on his feet, alert.

"You shouldn't be going anywhere. The surgeon and the nurse were clear about you resting. Please will you take care of yourself this once?" Booth heard the catch in her voice and wondered what was really going on.

"Bones," he asked gently, his voice slipping into a soothing tenor. "What's wrong?"

"I . . . nothing. I've just been worried about you. And here you are already turning it around and trying to take care of me. Hannah should be there taking care of _you._" The last bit came out unexpectedly, then equally unanticipated; she was silent as was he for a moment.

Booth wanted to agree with her, but knew it would be unfair to do so. He had told Hannah to go. He wanted to be angry with Bones; who was she to say anything about what Hannah should or should not be doing? Instead, sadness stole its way in and this in turn irritated him. He didn't want sadness. He had left sadness behind when he left for Afghanistan.

"Booth?" Bones asked hesitantly.

"Right. I told her to go, okay? I'm fine and with Hannah unavailable it looks like you need me to help with events that came before you got there. Look, I promise not to do cartwheels and throw shot puts, okay? Now, when should I meet you there?"

On her end of the phone Brennan had allowed herself a brief smile at his mention of cartwheels and realized that she would be unable to physically stop him so satisfied herself with imposing conditions. "You shouldn't drive. I will pick you up in forty-five minutes. Will that be acceptable?"

"Fine. See you in forty-five."

He hung up the phone and took a deep breath. So, re-living events did not particularly appeal to him, but he sure as hell wasn't going to just sit around and wait for everyone else to do everything. He got them into this mess; he had to clean it up.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Author's Note: Thank you for your patience awaiting this much later than planned update. Medical emergency interfered, but fortunately all is well, now!**_

_**Chapter 15**_

The car ride to Anacostia was quiet, which gave a true indication that something was bothering Booth. With her own unease Brennan encountered her uncertainty with how to break silence. She made her first attempt with sharing the information they had regarding her x-rays, but noticed his pained expression when she referenced the bruising, so she discontinued that thread. She asked after Hannah to find out more about her recent assignment, but Booth's answers were short with no additional information forthcoming.

"How does your neck feel? Is it giving you much discomfort?"

"It's fine."

Surreptitiously she stole glances at Booth. His jaw line remained relatively relaxed, but his eyes appeared strained, small lines extended to his temples, the brown depths of his irises sunk deep inside of himself. One elbow rested on the window with his hand holding up his head. The other hand lay in his lap, clenching, then forcibly relaxing. His right knee jittered.

"Booth, you have said before that talking about what is bothering us can help us feel better about whatever the problem is."

"I'm fine, Bones." He chanced a glance at her and caught her needling look. "Yeah, okay, so I'm a little on edge. This whole thing just stinks. Or maybe I should say, "_huele mala"_ so that you'll actually believe me." Brennan chanced him a smirk. "We can go ahead and re-enact everything, and maybe you'll find something because you guys are amazing with that, but maybe not. Gates is in the mix now and I didn't see him as a major player. So, either I'm wrong, or Escala has just turned up the heat and if _that's_ the case . . . " he trailed off.

"So, you're worried that you're wrong about Gates?"

Booth sighed. "No."

"So, he isn't a major player."

"Right."

He was back to one-word answers. Reverse progress. "Booth." Her one word response was laced with interrogation, irritation, and supplication. He did not miss the cue.

"If Escala got to Gates, he's not going to stop there. He knows we know more about him than he wants us to know. Karnick made a big mistake when he grabbed you. He could have gotten away with leaving Escala out of things – Escala would have made sure of it. But Karnick got desperate which upped the stakes. I compounded the whole thing when I took Karnick out."

Brennan noted his choice of words about shooting Karnick. What would Sweets say to that, she wondered casually in the back of her head. "You're worried that Escala will seek retribution?"

"He'll seek silence. Which means you don't go anywhere without me or someone else from the FBI and security is doubled at the Jeffersonian."

"Is that why you told Hannah to leave? To protect her?"

Why did he suddenly feel guilty? Probably because that wasn't the primary reason for telling her to go. And perhaps because that's what he felt like he wanted to tell Bones to do right now. To get as far away as possible. "Yeah, that was part of it," was all he shared.

Brennan very much wanted to ask Booth more questions about the situation, but sensed that she had already pushed him as far as he was going to go on, well, just about everything right now. They passed the rest of the drive in silence.

Arriving in Anacostia, they found the FBI forensics team as well as Hodgins already on site. Hodgins walked over to meet them.

"Hey man. Should you be here right now so soon after—"

"Yes." Booth interrupted. "Finding anything useful, yet?"

Hodgins shook his head regretfully. "No, not yet. But we only just got here, we'll gather up as much as we can and maybe we'll get lucky."

Booth's expression relaxed as he apologized for snapping at Hodgins. "Thanks for helping out, man."

"Yeah, you know, no problem."

They proceeded to walk through the scenario, beginning with when Booth first saw Hannah with Alonso. He remembered the fear in her eyes – it wasn't something he usually saw. Alonso had seemingly scooped up his knife before he ran off, later, as the forensics team yesterday had not been able to find it. Booth tried to replay in his head yet again his scan from just before overtaking Alonso. It had been quick and he knew he'd had to take action regardless of what he saw. He walked back over to the spot, put his hands on his hips, and tilted his head in memory.

"Booth, what is it?" Brennan asked.

"C'mon, Bones, let's go try to talk to someone." He walked over to her and brought an arm out to gently swing her around to walk with him to the building across the street.

"I don't understand. Where are we going?"

"I saw someone up on the second floor of this building – I think he, or maybe she, was holding a phone. Maybe Gates wasn't the first one to call 911 yesterday."

They made their way up the tenement stairs with Booth making sure he let his instincts guide him as he had no badge or gun – both had been confiscated as Booth was put on suspended duties. He counted the doors down to the one he was looking for and spoke quietly to Bones.

"Maybe when I knock you could introduce yourself, first? And maybe not include the "Doctor" part? It might get this person to open the door and talk to us." Brennan nodded her assent and knocked on the door.

"Hello? My name is Temperance Brennan, I work at the Jeffersonian Institute. I –"

To both of their surprise, the door opened without hesitation and a young woman who looked to be in her late teens answered the door. "I know who you are. You the people I saw out on the street yesterday. You the guy who shot that cop, ain't you?" Booth remained impassive.

The woman continued. "Don't matter if you admit it. I know what I saw. You a cop, too?"

Brennan spoke before Booth could. "He's an FBI agent. Do you think we could come in and ask you some questions?" Booth smiled inwardly at Bones' success as the woman agreed and invited them in.

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is my partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan. And you are . . . ?"

"Macaria. I don't understand why everyone is back here, today. Weren't y'all all over the place yesterday?"

"There have been complications to the case, Macaria." Brennan answered. "Did you see everything that happened?"

"Yeah, I was looking out for my brother, Emilio." Booth and Bones exchanged glances. "He was supposed to meet with that blond chick, the reporter, but I think something got messed up. He left yesterday morning and he hasn't come back, yet." Macaria folded her arms into herself and her shoulders hunched tightly.

"Does that happen often? That Emilio doesn't come back for awhile?" Booth asked.

"Sometimes. But I don' know. Ever since I saw what went down yesterday? I gotta bad feeling about this. Emilio was gonna help, you know? He wanted outta everything. We was going to get out of here, but he wanted me to finish school, first. This was my last year." Her voice began to shake and Booth put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her.

"Maybe we can find out more about where Emilio is by you helping us out a little?"

"Yeah, okay. If Emilio was willing to bust that guy Karnick, then I sure as hell can too."

Booth wanted to cheer this young spitfire, but felt sobered by the unease he experienced about Emilio's whereabouts. He and Brennan asked her questions about what she knew of Emilio and Alonso's dealings and how they knew what they did about Karnick. Macaria was able to corroborate what they had learned through Hannah's investigation and also indicate that Emilio seemed to have known even more, but never shared that information with Macaria, wanting to protect her.

She had witnessed the entire situation including from when Hannah was threatened by Alonso until Booth shot Karnick. She told them that Gates saw almost everything, as well; he had been approaching from the other end of the street.

Booth asked if she'd be willing to come in and answer these questions again and perhaps a few more from the agents that were actually heading up this investigation. He allowed himself a small amount of hope at this break in the case. Here was a potential testimony that could prove credible. There were still snags, but if forensics and Bones' team could come up with anything, coupled that with Caroline's defense . . . things had a shot at working themselves out.

Booth's phone chirped and he opened it up to view the text message as Macaria agreed to come in with them. The message he received with the accompanying picture depressed him and caused his body to tense up once again. Special delivery to Special Agent Booth at the FBI: Emilio's head.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16**_

When she saw him put his hand on Macaria's shoulder, she was reminded, yet again, of Booth's kind, sensitive nature. She knew he was itching to question her further, but his compassion won out. Brennan herself realized that this was potentially a big break in their case, but still wanted to have solid evidence to support him.

She noticed some of the worry lines fall away from his eyes as Macaria backed up everything they knew. His eyes tightened again, but only briefly, when she talked about him shooting Karnick and her own reaction to it. They moved through the rest of the questions and she could tell that Booth was bothered about something because he had that look in his eyes with his forehead wrinkled when he was trying to work out something in his head.

The text, however, caused his whole demeanor to shift once again. It pained her to see Booth in this constant stage of edginess. There was a time where he might have shared more of his concerns with her, but much of that closeness seemed to have been lost. She could not discern whether or not he shared more with Hannah now, or not. Based upon what she saw, Hannah did not fully understand Booth, yet, but she could hardly fault her for that since it had surely taken Brennan years to understand him. She felt an overwhelming desire, once more, to teach Hannah how to deal with him.

Booth passed his phone over to her so that she could read the message he had received. For all of the strength, hope, and bravery Macaria demonstrated, this result seemed enormously cruel. Brennan wondered that they weren't sharing the news with Macaria, but she caught Booth's signal, the same one, coincidentally, that she saw when Karnick had her at gunpoint, and did not say anything.

Macaria agreed to come with them to the Hoover building, or rather, have someone take her there since Booth and Brennan had not completed the data collection down on the street. Booth seemed at odds with the new developments and as Macaria went to gather a few things, Brennan inquired, "Are you worried she is not being forthright with us? Is that why you are not telling her about her brother?"

"Nah, I think she's on the up and up, but she will need protection. I guess I'm worried that she'll clam up, not that I would blame her." He brought his hand to the back of his head and gently massaged his neck. "I think it's better to wait until she is in complete protection before sharing the news."

Brennan put her fingers lightly on his neck, near the bandage. "Are you in much pain, right now?" She noticed that he became completely still and she met his eyes, which caused her to catch her breath, as they pooled in rich sepia tones singed with a different kind of pain.

Booth gave a step back, cleared his throat, and assured her he was fine. He looked over to the hallway from where Macaria was now emerging with a backpack and her purse. "You really think this is necessary?" She asked with doubt, which then changed to a challenging tone. "I mean, I'm used to this kind of shit, you know? I know how to take care of myself."

"I am quite certain you can," Brennan pitched in. "But when the FBI offers to protect you, I have found from personal experience that they do a very good job with this task." She chanced a glance at Booth who had looked down and gave a small smile in appreciation.

"Do I get you as a bodyguard, Agent Booth?" Macaria pointed at him with her chin. "'Cause I think I can believe what she said after what I saw yesterday."

Booth shook his head. "No, but I promise you'll have the best we've got." Brennan wanted to point out that _he_ was the best, but opted to hold that comment back, remembering that he was probably trying to reassure the young woman. They made their way back down the stairs and outside and Booth flagged an agent over to brief her of the situation with Macaria and to have her drive Macaria to the Bureau. Booth assured Macaria that he would check in with her later.

Brennan allowed herself a small smile and Booth caught her expression and returned with his eyes furrowed. "What?"

"I am merely admiring your ability to make everyone around you feel safe and comforted in spite of your own uncertainties."

"And that makes you smile? Or are you laughing at me?"

Brennan gave him a tilt of her head. "It most definitely makes me smile. It is very Boothy and I find that it gives me a sense of security as well."

She was rewarded with the first real smile from him that she had seen that morning. The one that caused his eyes to twinkle and fill his entire face. "Boothy, huh? Well how about you show me your 'Bonesiness" now as we finish up the replay of yesterday's events?"

"Bonesiness…oh," Brennan's mind clicked into understanding. "I see. It's a mix between Bonesy and business. Very clever." She chuckled and grinned foolishly as she saw his own grin with raised eyebrows and acknowledging nod. In fact, it was the most Boothy feeling she had received from him in a long time and she reveled in the ridiculous giddiness that it stirred.

The exchange had its own effect on the rest of the data-collection at the scene. They moved through it quickly and Booth even seemed more relaxed and less bothered by what they were doing. Brennan examined how she also felt more at ease and added this situation to her evidence log regarding her love for Booth. She liked how she could be more objective about these feelings right now though she had to accede to the fact that her giddiness with Booth right now seemed to be of a similar intensity as her concern while sitting with him in the hospital.

Angela had made the comment awhile back that she and Booth had been a couple, they just weren't having sex. Not until recently did she fully appreciate this observation. She missed their dinners, their spontaneous lunches and drinks together at the Founding Fathers or elsewhere. It seemed ridiculous to her, now, that she ever thought that could go on indefinitely. So many things seemed ridiculous to her now that she had been starting to act as her own reviewer of her own personal "journal paper" that analyzed her relationship with Booth. Time away did not alleviate her fears for Booth's safety. Time away did not change what she knew to be true of their partnership – that it indeed meant everything. Six years of him being with her during every significant moment of that time period and she needed time away from him to understand that he wouldn't leave her? That he wouldn't abandon her?

She dictated her review in her head: _This paper regarding the relationship of one Seeley Booth and Temperance Brennan demonstrates an exhaustive sample of data from which to create a thorough and credible analysis with accurate conclusions. However, the conclusions drawn are not consistent with the findings given. A logical breakdown has occurred given the data provided. Evidence is overwhelming in its support of the full connection and commitment of Seeley Booth to his partner, Temperance Brennan. This connection is most commonly associated with the societal view of love and the commitment indicates a probable dissolution of said connection to be at a negligible level._

_Furthermore, this reviewer asserts that the author of this paper has ignored her own impact into the variables of the six-year experiment. It would seem that resolving the issues identified in this paper is essential before being considered for publication._

She was starting to recognize where her own role needed to be more fully examined. The latest developments indicated that she was the one who abandoned him and now she realized that she couldn't leave him again, even if it meant she couldn't be a couple with him in everything but sex – or even with sex.

Hannah offered the opportunity for Booth to have what he needed, what she hadn't been able to provide. Booth had been happy with her. What saddened her now was that it seemed like Booth was not as happy with Hannah as he had been and it wasn't just the past couple of days where she had perceived this difference. There had been little things before that she had noticed. Brennan felt like she had some responsibility in Booth's happiness and this lead her to her most important task ahead for her "paper": she needed to resolve all issues before publication.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Author's Note: Special thanks to Mali Bear's Buddy for the tweaks and final go-ahead with this chapter. Have you read her stuff? It's top notch. Check her out.**_

_**Chapter 17**_

They finished up with the data collection at the scene and Brennan gave a half-hearted argument to Booth for him to go back home and rest, but he did not surprise her with his refusal citing a need to petition to have one of his weapons returned so that he could better protect her until the threat from Escala had disappeared. She countered with her typical protest to his over protectiveness and that another agent posted outside her place would be sufficient. The argument between them was so well-rehearsed that they both might have laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious.

One problem Booth hadn't worked out, yet, was that Hannah was due back early in the evening. The trip to California was only meant to be a day trip and he wasn't sure how to coordinate keeping both she and Bones safe without having a big sleepover at his or Bones' place. It didn't help knowing that both women were going to fight him on it one way or the other.

Upon arriving at the Hoover building they first checked in with Agent Mosen who had been working with Macaria. Mosen told him that Macaria's story still matched up with what she had told Booth and with what they already knew or suspected about Escala.

"Have you told her about her brother?"

Mosen gave a sad nod. "Yes, we found no other reason to withhold that information. We're getting ready to move her to a safehouse for the interim until we can get her in witness protection."

"Mind if I talk to her?"

She agreed and gestured to the conference room where she was waiting.

Macaria sat with her arms wrapped tightly around her chest and she rocked gently back and forth in the conference room chair. Her eyes were dry, but red-rimmed and Booth felt a pang of sadness for how her life had been suddenly change around, but not in the way she had imagined just days ago. He felt he could sympathize quite easily. She looked up in anger when she saw Booth and Brennan enter the room.

"Did you know?" She yelled at them. "Did you know about Emilio before handing me off?"

She may not always remember to be as tactful in similar situations, but he was ever grateful that in these particular ones, where the pain and anger was palpable and justified, that Brennan spoke swiftly and directly.

"Yes, Macaria, we did. But it was necessary that we not tell you at the time. You will have to trust us on that."

"I'm sorry," Booth added. "I know it can't mean much to you right now, but I really am sorry for that and for your loss."

"Have you caught the asshole that did this to him? Was it that cop's partner? Huh? I hope you kill that son of a bitch just like you did the other guy." Macaria spilled out bitterly.

"We're going to catch the person responsible, Macaria. I promise." He always knew that he shouldn't make those kinds of promises, but each time he did he felt a renewed sense of purpose and commitment. He hadn't broken a promise yet, and thank God for Bones and her team that helped him fulfill so many more of those promises. He offered condolences once more as well as thanked her for honoring Emilio's death by offering her own testimony against Escala. He felt like it was a trite thing to say, but she took it gracefully. She was young and did not know how ridiculously feeble words like that actually were coming out of an FBI agent's mouth no matter how sincere he was.

He lead Bones out of the conference room and to the elevators for the trip up to see Hacker. For the first time, and certainly the only time, he was grateful for the past relationship that Bones had with Hacker as he felt it would play in his favor that Hacker would be equally worried about Bones under the current circumstances.

"Do you think there is a good chance that Andrew will re-instate you?"

Booth shook his head. "No, but I'm not really asking him for that. I'm merely asking for the return of one of my weapons, or the loan of another so that I can more adequately protect you and everyone else around me while Escala is still running around calling the shots. Seems to me that Emilio's head delivered to me personally should be incentive enough."

"I should get back to the lab so that I can oversee the data analysis. I can take a cab back and we can meet at the diner later to compare notes?" She'd have preferred insisting that he simply go home and rest, but reasoned a compromise, instead.

They entered the elevator and Booth pressed the button for Hacker's floor. "Not happening, Bones. You're not leaving my sight. I don't like when criminals who think they're hot shots start thinking they can call the shots. I will _not_ let Escala win." Booth responded fiercely.

"Booth – " Brennan started.

"Look, I don't want to hear it, okay? Not today. Please?" She pursed her lips and tacitly agreed. "We'll be as quick as possible. Just a quick meeting with Hacker about getting a weapon, then we should probably meet with Caroline briefly to update her on our preliminary progress from today."

"You look pale," Brennan noted.

"I'm fine."

"I didn't ask you how you were, I was merely making an observation. I will, however, add in that we should still eat after meeting with Caroline. I can't speak for you, but I am hungry." Brennan told him matter-of-factly.

"Fine."

"Fine."

The elevator opened to Hacker's floor and they walked out together to his office. Walking into his office Hacker's face broke into a ridiculous grin upon seeing Brennan as he stood up and rushed around his desk to greet her.

"Temperance. I didn't expect to see you today. You are looking very nice. How are you?"

"Thank you, Andrew. I'm doing well. And you?" Brennan gave a small smile.

"I'm also well. Well, except for this whole mess with Booth and the Metro PD, of course." Hacker gestured clumsily. Booth tried hard not to roll his eyes at his boss. "Agent Booth, you look terrible. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be plugging yourself in and re-generating somewhere?"

Booth managed a quick, sarcastic smile before laying out the situation with his requests that Emilio's head be sent over to the Jeffersonian, that security be doubled for the Jeffersonian lab staff, and that he be issued a weapon in order to protect Brennan.

Hacker agreed readily to everything, but paused at the request for the weapon. "I can't re-instate you, Booth."

"I understand that, but Escala has dialed everything up and I am sure you would agree with me that we would not like to see a similar fate happen to Bones like the last person who tried to 'help.'"

Hacker considered the situation. "I can just have Agent Rikers serve as her bodyguard."

"I don't need a bodyguard at all." Brennan protested.

"Yes you do," Both men responded simultaneously and Booth raised his eyebrows at Hacker as if to say, "see what I mean?"

Hacker sighed, unlocked a drawer, and pulled out a Glock 9mm pistol and handed it over to Booth, who thanked him curtly and tucked it away behind his back.

"You should stop in and see Caroline before you go. She's been breathing down my neck and to be honest, she kind of scares me so try and keep her away from me for awhile, okay?" Hacker said. Booth chuckled as he and Brennan started out the door.

"Booth?" Booth paused and turned back to Hacker. "No one around here believes Gates, you know. We nail Escala and this whole thing gets forgotten."

Perhaps Hacker and the Bureau would forget, but Booth knew better than to think he himself would forget any of it, but gave a short nod of appreciation as they headed out and straight into Hacker's nemesis.

"Booth!" Was it any wonder that Hacker was frightened of this woman? Booth reflexively straightened his whole posture and took a step back, bumping into Bones in the process.

Caroline merely "hmphed" and asked, "_What_ are you doing here? And _why_ are you talking to Director Hacker? And _when_ were you thinking of coming to see me since you're being a fool by being here in the first place? You look like hell."

"Okay, so it looks like you've found who you were looking for Ms. Julian, so I'll, just … " Hacker closed the door to his office without completing his sentence.

"Fool." Caroline said to no one in particular as she grabbed Booth's arm and lead them to an empty conference room. "Come with me, cheri." She sat them all down and had them recount all of the information they had gathered that day. Booth told her about Macaria and the arrival of Emilio's head, which he assumed she already knew about while Brennan filled her in on the collection of physical evidence they were gathering including the pressure measurements of the bruising on her face, the distance between Booth and Karnick as well as the angles of the bullet entries and how Karnick fell afterwards. Hodgins was not able to get much by way of dirt and particulates, but was optimistic that, given access, they might be able to pull evidence from Karnick's clothing that might indicate the angle and force of his fall, which could contradict a standard "execution" scenario.

"It is not a slam basket, but we will keep looking." Brennan said.

Booth tucked a smile away. "A slam _dunk_, Bones." He whispered to her affectionately to which she nodded in understanding.

"Director Hacker has been backing you pretty heavily, Booth, if that means anything to you and Director Cane is still playing it like the book, which will play in your favor. I do _not_ like how Gates is sticking so strongly to his story so the more we have the better off we'll all be." Caroline said.

"Thanks, Caroline." Booth told her quietly as he stood up to go.

Caroline shrugged him off. "Don't thank me yet. You and I both know your partner's right in that this is not a slam dunk, but neither one of us goes down without a fight, ain't that right, cher?"

Booth gave her a weak smile. "Right. We're headed to the diner for lunch. Wanna join us?"

"No can do, but I bet your boy, Sweets, there will happily tag along."

Booth groaned as "tag along" definitely fit the hopeful expression on Sweets' face as he stepped inside. "Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan! I have to say I'm rather surprised to see both of you here, today. Booth, shouldn't you be at home, resting? You really don't look so hot."

Brennan took that as a good sign that they should go eat lunch as soon as possible. "Dr. Sweets, we are headed to the diner for lunch."

"Great! I'll join you." He cheerfully volunteered.

"I don't think Bones actually invited you to come along, Sweets." Booth put forth.

"I believe I simply gave a statement of my intentions, so it's all good." Sweets rallied back.

Booth rolled his eyes as they made their way to the elevator. Sweets pulled out his phone. "So, I imagine we'll have to meet for a psych evaluation before you can be fully re-instated – should we look at next week?"

"Didn't you just say you were surprised to see me here and now you're already trying to mess up my brain?" Booth asked in irritation.

"No time like the present to make sure you don't conveniently 'forget' to make this appointment later. We all know that having to take a life even in the course of defending others is not an easy thing for you and I don't want to wait any longer than necessary to help you process this event."

"I've _processed_ this kind of thing plenty of times on my own, Sweets; I don't suddenly have this urgent need to do it with you, now so let's just remember that your 'psych evaluation' is just the hoop I have to jump through in order to fully get back to work."

"And yet, I feel I continually need to remind you that I am the one holding the hoop. We will do what we need to do in order for me to feel confident that you can perform your duties satisfactorily." Booth glared at him. Sweets held his own, but attempted to mitigate his comments. "Look, maybe you're right that now is not the right time to get into this. Obviously things are still fresh and you're not feeling 100%, so maybe—"

"So maybe you can just come to the diner with us as a friend instead of a psychologist?" Brennan cut in.

"Right." Sweets put his hands into his pockets. "Yes, right. I can do that."

"Fine." Booth said.

"Fine." Sweets added.

Brennan shrugged and said with finality, "Fine."

They continued the elevator descent in silence.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18**_

At the diner, Booth sat down and suddenly felt enormously tired and slightly nauseous from pain and exhaustion. Putting his elbows on the table, he briefly rested his head in his hands with his eyes closed in an effort to regain some energy and felt Bones' hand rest on his arm as she slid him a glass of water.

"Booth, you need to drink something. I'm very concerned about your medical condition right now. You really don't look very well at all."

"I just need to eat something. I'll be all right. I'll lay down for awhile in your office at the lab, okay?"

Brennan gave a tilt of her head in chagrin and stared at him worriedly. Booth returned her stare and tried to reject the waves of concern emanating from the eyes that were a deep green today. He pulled together his best reassuring smile. "We should have eaten lunch earlier today, is all. Right? I'll eat my hamburger, you'll finish my fries, I'll be right as rain." He followed up by downing the glass of water she had given him.

Brennan rolled her eyes at him with a half-smile and switched over to talk about the case. Emilio's head would be at the Jeffersonian that afternoon and she was hoping that she'd be able to examine the severed section of the vertebra and hopefully gain some evidence and insights that would help them identify who was involved with Emilio's murder.

"Well, I know you don't like me saying so, but c'mon, we know it's Escala or someone near to him. Hey, maybe Sweets can be useful here and give us some profiling information to help us out. Waddya say, Sweets?"

"Oh yeah. Totally." Sweets jumped in eagerly, which relieved Booth because he did not have the energy to maintain this conversation. He figured Sweets could spew out some mumbo jumbo for awhile until their food came, diverting attention away from himself as Sweets had been staring at him with an expression that was clearly a shrink analyzing him instead of a friend. He guessed he probably couldn't help it, though. It was part of who he was.

"So," Sweets started. "Escala clearly is a man who covets complete control over his situation and full submission from his own men. We can see this not only in Karnick's actions that lead him to shooting at Hannah and you and taking Dr. Brennan hostage, but also with Officer Gates feeling compelled to change the facts of the story in spite of his limited involvement. Officer Karnick clearly felt he had no other recourse than to resort to violent threats in order to protect himself from breaking whatever rules Escala had put forth. Officer Gates may have threats that we don't know about that are pressuring him to give an alternate scenario. And then there is the severed head mailed to you. This last piece is the most telling action. He has thrown a challenge out to you, Agent Booth. He has thrown down his gauntlet and dared you to connect him to everything. He is feeling very confident about now."

"Booth says that we should reveal how much we really know in that kind of situation in order to upset the suspect's equilibrium which might help provoke the likely suspect into making a mistake." Brennan offered.

Booth's eyes cleared momentarily as another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. "Bones! You're a genius!" Before he could explain what he meant, though, he felt a sudden wave of nausea overtake him and he made his way quickly to the restroom and heaved the water he just drank and shook when he could bring forth no more than that.

"Booth?" Brennan's voice floated in followed shortly by her presence at his side.

"Bones!" He chided weakly, trying to slow his breathing. "You shouldn't be in here."

She felt his forehead and gently lifted his head so that she could examine his pupils. "Booth. We have to get you to the hospital right away. You're color is far paler than you're your normal complexion, your pupils are irregularly dilated, and your temperature feels exceedingly high. I believe you have an infection and you need to be treated for it immediately."

"Dr. Brennan? Agent Booth? Are you all right?" Sweets asked in alarm as he came into the restroom.

Brennan replied quickly. "We need to get Booth to the hospital. Can you help me get him to the car?"

Sweets readily agreed in spite of Booth's feeble protests. "I can walk," he said shrugging them off. Brennan hooked an arm around his again anyway and they made their way to her car.

XXXXXXX

At the hospital they started an I.V. with electrolytes and antibiotics and re-treated his wound on his neck. It was not long before his color had started to return and he admitted to feeling worlds better. He sat through Brennan scolding him for not indicating how poor he really was feeling earlier and reasoned with her about his insistence that he not be admitted in spite of recommendations from emergency room staff.

Booth's phone buzzed, interrupting the bickering. Caller ID showed Hannah's name. "Hey babe," he answered casually.

"Seeley, are you okay? What happened?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Nothing happened, what do you mean?"

"I got a text from Sweets that you were in the hospital again."

Booth glared at Sweets menacingly as he responded to Hannah, "He shouldn't have done that. I'm fine – just an infection, but I'm being treated and I'll be out of here again within the hour. He shouldn't have bothered you."

He heard her sigh on the other end. "It's not a bother to worry about someone I love."

He chanced himself a small amount of comfort at her words and tone as she continued. "I probably shouldn't have let you convince me to leave you in the first place – especially since we're not coming back tonight after all."

Was it wrong of him to feel relieved at hearing this information? He had been struggling with worrying about hers and Bones' safety and knowing Hannah was over 2,000 miles away from Escala eased his mind a great deal. "I told you to go," he reassured her.

"Yes, but since when does that mean I listen?" He smirked and conveyed to her his relief that she was far away from the dangerous mess going on back home, which in turn prompted her to ask about the case. He filled her in on what he could, leaving out Macaria's name and simply indicating that there was a witness to the Anacostia scene.

"Emilio's dead," he told her quietly. Hannah was silent a moment on the other end before she asked what she could do to help.

"Stay safe," he replied without hesitation. "Although," he suddenly remembered his thought process at the diner, "is there anything more can you tell me about Alonso? Can you think about anything you didn't remember before?"

"I pretty much only had Emilio's take on things and Alonso didn't really say much when I met with him. The biggest thing, though, was that he felt that things had gotten out of control. You know, I don't think he ever meant to get linked with Escala at all. Emilio made it sound like Alonso preferred being his own man."

"Right," Booth nodded to himself and drifted into thought, trying to solidify his plan.

Hannah told him she had to go and said she'd be back early the next day. Booth closed his phone and looked up at Brennan who seemed to be studying him for some reason and Sweets who appeared apprehensive.

"Before you get too upset with me, let me just point out that if it were Hannah in your situation, wouldn't you want to know right away?" Sweets asked.

Booth thought about arguing, but recognized that Sweets was right and backed down. "Yeah. Yeah, you're probably right." He tried not to smile at the obvious relief that seemed to flood Sweets' expression. He could argue that Hannah worried far less about him than the other way around, but he didn't need pscyho-analyst Sweets starting up, nor did he want to waste more time on the whole thing. More important concerns were cropping up.

Brennan asked him about Alonso and Booth shared aloud what he had been mulling over. "I was telling you that you're a genius, because you talked about the whole equilibrium thing and I was thinking that we had kind of forgotten about Alonso because he just kind of disappeared and we've never really considered his involvement. Alonso was supposed to be Escala's balance for his weapons and drugs circle, but Alonso didn't really want any part of it. Karnick was the go-between, but screwed everything up. I don't think Escala figured Karnick would be so unstable. I figure Alonso is either hiding until things blow over or Escala has Alonso and sent me Emilio's head in order to get me to seek out Alonso."

"How do we find out which it is? How do we find out where Alonso is?" Sweets asked.

"Ah," Booth gave Brennan a conspiratorial smile which she returned reflexively, "that is where you come in and possibly Sweets. We're going to get every bit of information you and your squints can get from Emilio's head and Sweets and I are going to go talk to Gates. He knows something. It isn't just fear that is getting him to make these accusations against me. There's something else."

Sweets observed the exchange between the two partners and felt the profound connection that they still shared, in spite of Booth having "moved on" and Brennan accepting this new wrinkle. Never had it been harder to be simply their friends rather than the therapist he once was to them. Friends had to support each other and accept their choices without interfering. He knew this. But sometimes it was impossibly difficult to not say anything.

He shrugged those thoughts aside, however, in order to focus on Booth's plan. "I don't see how you'll be able to question Gates at all on this, Booth. The FBI won't let you near this case."

"That's why I need you, Sweets." Sweets couldn't help his own smile from spreading across his face as Booth reeled him into the machinations. "Ideally, Bones will find something and you and she can confront Gates. We crack Gates, we find Alonso. We find Alonso, we get Escala."

"Totally awesome. I'm in." Sweets agreed enthusiastically.

"Great." Booth said as he pressed the button for a nurse. "Let's get me unhooked and get to work."

"Booth, _no_." Brennan cut in suddenly, startling Booth.

"What? What's wrong?"

"What is wrong is that you keep trying to cut corners in your recovery and you have to stop that right now. If you keep going like you have been I guarantee you will have to be hospitalized for more serious complications." Brennan said forcefully.

"Bones, I feel good now and I don't want wait. Every day Escala is out there means another day I have to worry about him coming after you, or Hannah, or someone else connected to me. This has all gotten way out of hand way too fast. It needs to stop _now._"

"But you can't keep pushing yourself like you have been. Honestly, Booth, how do you expect to protect us if you cannot even walk or see straight?" It was a tough blow to deal him, but necessary; however, her own expression collapsed in the face of his, which had taken on a defeated look. She put a hand on his arm, "I don't want to see you in a hospital bed again. You promised me you wouldn't do cartwheels or throw shot-puts, but as much as you did today was evidently tantamount to the same thing so everything you just said can – no, _will - _wait until tomorrow so that you do not break that promise to me."

Booth caught her fiery, tearful eyes. Why couldn't Hannah love him like Bones did? And why couldn't Bones love him like Hannah did? He was trapped inside Bones' eyes, trying desperately not to give himself away yet again. Why couldn't _he_ stop loving her the way he did? The burden of a slow-churning decision that he had been dreading pressed down on him once again, but the current decision in front of him came willingly as he simply said, "Okay."

Brennan wasn't sure what she expected, but his tacit agreement was not it. "Okay?" she asked as she wiped away a tear that just barely escaped.

Booth grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. "Yeah, Bones, okay. I'm sorry. We'll do it your way."


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19**_

Booth dutifully collapsed into his bed after collecting his own promise from Bones that she would keep the door locked and not go anywhere. He didn't bother with changing, getting underneath covers, or even with taking off his shoes because if he were completely honest with himself, he really was dog-tired beat and his own bed felt luxurious. He fell asleep within moments.

Out in the living room, Brennan pulled out her laptop and connected with Dr. Saroyan at the Jeffersonian.

"Dr. Brennan," Cam greeted her. "How's Booth doing?"

"He is finally resting as he should have been doing in the first place." Brennan replied.

"Hey, don't feel bad," Cam smiled wryly at her. "Booth's a stubborn S.O.B. and would have found his own way to do what he wanted with or without you getting on his case."

"Yes, I believe you are correct about that. Have you found anything from the victim's cranium that can help us identify the weapons used?" 

Cam confirmed that the bullet from Emilio's skull was congruent with Escala's ammunition and appeared to have been fired from close range. "I would say that our findings with the bullet hole and its impact more closely support an execution-style shooting with Emilio than with what Gates is claiming about Booth." Cam added with frustration. Though it seemed to be some kind of saw, they were still trying to identify the precise tool used to sever the cranium from the rest of the body, but promised she would inform Dr. Brennan as soon as they had any more news.

Angela came on next. "Hey Sweetie, how are you holding up? You look tired – it probably wouldn't be a bad idea if you got some rest, too. I bet you could snuggle right up next to Booth and have a very relaxing nap."

Brennan rolled her eyes at her friend. "I do not believe that is how things work when someone is in a monogamous relationship like Booth is."

"Oh?" Angela asked archly. "Does that mean you would consider it otherwise?"

"Ange – no, I . . what did you want to tell me about the case?" Brennan brushed her off.

Angela sighed and related that she put all of the data and measurements into the computer and felt it was pretty solid to support Booth, but confessed that it was not infallible.

"I understand, Angela. Thank you. Has Dr. Hodgins been able to pull anything useful from the Anacostia site?"

Angela didn't think he had found anything in particular with Anacostia, but believed he had some possibilities from the cranium and patched her through to his workstation.

"Hey Dr. B," Hodgins greeted her.

"Angela says you might have found something useful from the victim's skull or skin tissue?"

Hodgins' eyes widened in excitement. "Yes, all kinds of goodies in his hair and some interesting steel particulates from the detachment area. The steel seems to be from some sort of circular saw common to cutting lumber and we found bits of white pine in the hair, which is common to a few different places around D.C. that people use for flooring." There were other particulates, but Hodgins indicated that he hadn't found anything definitive about them, yet. "How're you holding up there, Dr. B.?"

"I'm fine. How are _you_ holding up?"

Hodgins gave a little chuckle at her edgy tone. "You know, it's okay to be worried or tired or nervous. I worry all of the time about Angie, especially now. And, I know it's irrational of me to worry about her the way I do, but I just can't help it."

"Jack," Brennan started hesitantly.

Hodgins gave her a curious look.

"How do you balance those irrational feelings with science and logic?" she asked.

Hodgins gave her a benevolent smile and gave a slight shake of his head. "I don't. I look at Ange and logic ceases to exist in those moments. I just let myself _feel_ and sometimes fear is there, but ultimately, love and security override it all."

Brennan looked at him thoughtfully as she thanked him and disconnected. She stood to go check on Booth. She walked softly to his door and gazed upon his long form sprawled on his back across his bed, breathing slow, even breaths. His head was off to the side with one arm extended out towards the center of the bed and the other resting on his chest. One of his feet was hanging over the edge and she noticed that his shoes were still on. Without thinking she immediately went to remove them, then went to retrieve a blanket from his living room to drape over him and in so doing, she caught the peaceful expression on his face and became overwhelmed with love. She _felt_ it to her very core and more importantly, did not feel frightened by it. Here, just in this moment, she felt Booth's 50 years.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20**_

Booth awoke as though caught amid a pleasant memory when he noticed the blanket covering him and the familiar smell of grilled cheese sandwiches. For an instant he thought he was home with Pops before his brain unfogged and reality hit him with utter contentment - followed by heart crushing pain. This scene was something he envisioned too many times and the fact that it still wasn't "real" cut him to the quick. It was one more reminder of how nothing had turned out like it should.

He swung himself out of bed and pulled himself together before heading out of his bedroom. He could do this. He followed the delicious aroma and found Bones in the kitchen transferring two sandwiches off the stove and onto plates that were already lined with chopped cantaloupe and potato chips.

"Bones! Grilled cheese? How did I get so lucky?"

"I had to work with what you had available. I think you could use a trip to the grocery store. Are you hungry?"

Hunger didn't begin to describe how famished he was as he grabbed the plates and moved them to the table. He grabbed them each a beer and sat to eat dinner. However, Brennan scooped the beers away and pulled out two glasses and some milk from the refrigerator, instead.

"You shouldn't be drinking alcohol today – not after you've been on painkillers and without enough food in your system," Brennan responded to his chagrined expression.

As she rejoined him at the table, Booth aimed for the safe conversational topic of the case. Brennan caught him up with what her team had learned, including the most recent update that Hodgins had narrowed the possible lumber companies.

"Did you send that information over to Mosen?"

"I wanted to check with you, first." Brennan said territorially.

"Thanks, but you know this isn't really my case . . . "

"I know. But we're in this together, right?"

He gave her a little half-smile. "Right. Thanks."

"Booth, you're my partner. It's what we do."

"I mean, thanks for, you know, for that, and for dinner, for . . . everything." He didn't wait long for a response, not wanting to rub his heart raw again. "So, first thing tomorrow, I'll see what I can scare up and maybe we can make a definitive connection that we can bring to Gates."

"There are more sandwiches keeping warm in the oven." Brennan mentioned as she noticed his empty plate. "You should eat more to keep re-building your strength and energy since I feel that you will stubbornly return to work in full-force tomorrow."

Booth gave a grin as he excitedly went to the oven to retrieve the sandwiches. "That's right, the agreement ends in the morning," he joked. "Seriously, though, I'm feeling great and this grilled cheese is like the icing on the cake."

Brennan smirked, "Only you would use some strange food metaphor to describe another food."

Booth winked at her and served up another sandwich to her plate. "C'mon, Bones, eat up with me and then maybe I can slip into the FBI database and check out that lead of yours."

After finishing up dinner Booth tied up the garbage and made his way down the hall to take it to the trash chute. He unlocked the door and as he opened it a force slammed him to the floor and as he felt another one pass by him he managed to snag an ankle and send the second unknown intruder sprawling to the floor. He shoved off the man on top of him and wrestled away from his grip in order to follow after the other who had already jumped up and started into the living room, only to get an unexpected kick to the gut by Bones, which made it easy for Booth to tackle him to the floor.

The first assailant, whom Booth now recognized as Alonso, came at Bones who parried away the hand that held a knife, but Booth had little time to worry about them as he caught a blow to the side of his face from Alonso's right-hand man. The blow knocked him off balance towards an end table off of which he grabbed the heavy object atop of it and swung it across the thug's face, knocking him out. Booth pulled his gun from behind his back and leveled it at Alonso.

"_Back off, _Alonso," Booth told him menacingly, causing him to be distracted and allowing Bones a final roundhouse kick that loosed the knife from his hand. At the clatter, she reached down to pick it up and handed it to Booth.

"You all right?" he asked her, his heart threatening to jump right out of his chest as she nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine. How about you?"

He flicked a brief smile in response to her casual reply and pointed his head in the direction of the floor. "See what I mean about the old time phones? Worked like a charm."

Brennan gave an unexpected laugh as she saw the Bakelite phone; the one Hannah had given Booth as a housewarming gift, lying on its side on the floor. Booth directed Bones to where she could find a set of handcuffs as well as twine and after he knew both were secured, he put away the gun and phoned in to dispatch for back-up.

"So, what's the story, Alonso? You a free agent or is all of this Escala breathing down your neck?"

Alonso gave no answer so Booth pressed right into his face. "Visiting an FBI agent in his home? Yeah, I pretty much know already that this isn't your thing. I _know_ Escala is behind this. The question is, why are you protecting him right now? What's he got on you?"

He surprised Booth by letting a flicker of fear run through his eyes. Before he could push him for an answer, however, a gunshot crashed through the window and just escaped hitting either Booth or Alonso. Booth swung a leg out to kick Alonso down to the floor while he lunged over to pull Brennan down and out of the line of subsequent gunshots that followed. _What the hell?_ Booth thought to himself. He pulled out his gun again as well as his phone and dialed while motioning Bones to unplug the lamps as he rolled to the kitchen and took cover, then reached for the switch to darken that room as well.

The dispatch switchboard operator answered and ordered, "Dispatch – identify and report."

"Dispatch, 22705 reporting shots fired at 328 N, November, street. Agent is inside with one civilian and two other reported suspects. Agents are already en route, but should be advised that an active threat is in progress with at least two suspects."

"Roger that 22705." The operator repeated back the information with Booth's confirmation and disconnected.

"Booth?" Brennan whispered.

"Stay down, Bones," he responded as he edged his way around in order to maneuver himself in an angle to see better, yet safely. He slowly raised himself up and scanned where he guessed the shooters to be. He thought he caught a flash and raised his weapon. More gunfire sent bullets riddling through his apartment, but allowed Booth to zero in on a target. He took aim and fired twice, dropping one of the gunmen.

"Booth!"

"What is it, Bones? I'm kind of busy, here," he responded testily.

"The bullets. They're the same as the one from Hannah's leg and from Emilio's frontal bone."

"Well, Sweets got that one right, huh? Guess Escala's confidence got away from him." He raised his voice enough for Alonso to hear him. "Escala didn't trust you to do exactly as he asked you, huh? You've been the wildcard all along, isn't that right, Alonso?"

"Man, I didn't never wanna get involved in no weapons or killin'. Dude Escala tells me I gotta come and take you out and then he'll say we're square, you know? But that ain't what I'm about, _ese_. We was just gonna rough you up a bunch to show we was cool and wouldn't get in his way, but that _vato_ is all kinds of messed up."

"Well, you got that right. Is that him across the way? Or someone else?"

"_Hombre_, how should I know? Could be your police _amigo_, Gates, you know?"

Another round came through, causing Booth to duck and vie for a better location. "Sure as hell ain't my amigo, _pal_." He crossed to the opposite corner, affording him a better view and felt reassured with the arrival of at least two FBI vehicles. He held his gaze across to where at least one other gunman remained and answered his buzzing phone. He spoke to the agents to verify that his suspects were still secure and green lighted them to pursue their gunman. He stayed on alert until he received another call from one of the other agents. Booth turned to Brennan and gave her an acknowledging nod.

They had Escala.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 21**_

Booth was sweeping up the remainder of the glass in the kitchen when Hannah arrived home looking cheerful, but a little tired.

"Hey," he looked up in surprise, glancing at his watch as he considered the time difference. It was 9:00am. "You guys got an early start this morning, huh?"

She came over to him and they shared a chaste kiss. "Yes, too early and I'm only stopping by for an hour or two to freshen up before I head in to wrap up the follow up story from this trip. I didn't expect to see you. Wait . . . " She turned his head to see the bruise on the side of his face and took in the scene around her for the first time. Booth had mostly straightened up everything, but broken windows and holes in the wall still made themselves glaringly obvious and she looked down to see what Booth had been sweeping.

"Oh my God, what happened here? The last time I talked to you, you were in the hospital, but sounding just fine. Are you all right?"

Booth shrugged. "Yeah, yeah –we're all fine. Had a bit of a showdown last night, but we have Escala in custody now."

She eyed him curiously. "I would think you would feel more excited by that outcome. What's going on?"

"It's just . . . well, nothing ever goes down easily. Escala took out the guy that lived in the place across the way so that he'd have access to me." He did not feel able to expand on all of the events that took place the night before. The unnecessary deaths only compounded the weight of all the emotions he had experienced the past few days. He could feel Hannah's questioning look, but did not have the energy to respond to it. He felt he had never known how to give her what she wanted in this regard.

"Babe – " Hannah started.

"Looks like Gates is coming clean." Booth pushed through. "Escala had some pressure on him with threats to his family. I'll probably be fully re-instated later today, but I gotta go in and wrap up a bunch of paperwork."

Hannah snaked her hands up along his chest under the lapels of his suit jacket and seductively around his neck. "Wanna relax a bit before we both have to go in?"

He gave a light chuckle as he dipped into her eyes with his own, but what she saw in those eyes told her that relaxing was not on his agenda that morning. He gave her a tender kiss, but gently stopped them from moving forward.

"Not this time. I have to work through some of this stuff differently right now."

Hannah looked at him warily. "I'm not sure what you mean by 'differently'."

"We've . . . _I've_ been skating along with the idea that we can just _be_ together, that there doesn't have to be more than that, but there's too much at stake, now and you don't even really know who I am."

"And whose fault is that?" Hannah asked in irritation.

"Mine," Booth responded without hesitation, "it's all mine." There was no sense in arguing it. He knew he had been consciously holding back and saw no reason for her to feel any responsibility for his choices.

Hannah gave him a stunned expression, then sighed. "No, not all yours. I know how to ask the right questions, but I haven't done it. It takes two, right?" He gave her a sad smile in agreement. "We aren't working, are we?"

Booth sat down heavily on the stool in the kitchen. "No, I guess not," he said reluctantly. "I'm sorry. I really am."

Hannah sat on the stool next to him. "I know. Me too. I feel like the events of the past couple of weeks threw the spotlight on all of the parts that we'd been kind of ignoring along the way."

"I love you," he said sorrowfully.

"I know. I love you, too," she said with equal sadness.

"But, it's not enough, is it?" He stroked the side of her face gently.

"We had a great run." She smiled warmly and took a hold of his hand. "You've given me so much, Seeley. I won't forget that."

"Not nearly as much as you gave me," he returned sincerely. "Look, you know you can stay here until you find alternate arrangements."

She gave a light laugh. "I think we both know that is not such a good idea. But I love you for offering it, anyway." He chuckled in return. She continued. "You know me, nomadic lifestyle, it will be easy for me gather up my things and move on to the next adventure. Although," she paused briefly, "not as easy as in the past. Being with you showed me that the idea of settling down is not so scary as I once thought it was."

Inasmuch as he knew that parting ways with Hannah was right, he still found himself slipping into a different kind of sadness after her line about settling down. He didn't understand how he had ended up here, alone again.

"It may sound really, really weird of me to say this right now," Hannah said hesitantly, "but I'm going to say it, anyway." Booth gave her a puzzled look. "Temperance. I know she's just your partner, but . . . I get this feeling that she feels more than that for you, that she would be open to something more—"

"She doesn't." Booth interrupted swiftly, flatly.

Hannah saw the flash of emotions run through his face and let the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place in her head. "Oh, Seeley. I'm sorry."

Booth could tell she really was and it floored him. "You're sorry?" He gave a chuckle. "Wait, why are we breaking up again?"

She couldn't help but laugh as she, too, realized the absurdity of the situation. Booth pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed the top of her head. "Stay safe," he whispered roughly before releasing her, grabbing his keys, and walking out the door.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter 22**_

They'd agreed to 9:00. He purchased their coffee and waited anxiously, losing courage by the moment as well as doubting his decision to wait until now and at this location. It suddenly felt cruel and yet he knew it was necessary. This had been a beginning; it now needed to be the end. When he saw her approach, however, he knew the location was all wrong. It couldn't be here – his heart ached too much already. He jumped up nervously, but held his ground so that he could still honor that promise, at least.

XXXXXXXXXXX

She spent much longer than usual picking out what to wear that morning, feeling unusually preoccupied with how she would look in his eyes, already letting the moments wash over her when he has stared at her with what she now clearly knew was love. She wanted to rely on science, right now, as a shivering warmth stole over her as thoughts of Booth seeped in, but stopped herself and let herself just feel. It was a new sensation and in spite of the idea that she tried to shut science out of it, the whole idea of concentrating on just "feeling" really was an interesting experiment and she could not help with the imaginary, unwritten lab report that went on in her mind.

Talking with Angela and observing how she and Hodgins interacted in their relationship showed her that two people could disagree, leave each other, but still make their way back. She had not wanted to acknowledge this, but re-connecting with her own family forced her to face the facts and evidence of this. She returned from Maluku having confronted that she felt this same thing could happen to her and Booth and discovered the heart-crushing reality that, like science also says, the universe does not stand still. The earth orbited the sun even before Galileo learned that it did.

Observing Booth and Hannah, she also knew that a loving relationship was a lot like a partnership – it takes two people to make it work, to take responsibility for it and allow it to grow.

She felt mildly apprehensive making her way to the reflecting pool, but seeing Booth's familiar figure boosted her confidence. This confidence faltered, however, upon seeing his smile that easily spread across his face, but did not reach his eyes. His eyes were troubled.

He handed her a coffee. "Thank you."

Involuntarily his eyes softened and crinkled at her words. But a cloud quickly passed over them again, though, as he said, "Let's take a walk. I saw another spot that has a nice view and might be a little less crowded."

It had been a few weeks since they wrapped up the case with Escala. Booth was fully healed up and he had reassured her that he was okay with the dissolution of his relationship with Hannah, but he still seemed burdened. She wanted to take away his burden, but was not sure how. Initially she had thought it was due to sadness regarding Hannah; however, whenever he talked about her, his tone always felt light and easy. He did not appear to hold regrets.

And yet, there was something else. They sat at the alternate location Booth had located. She felt extremely nervous and yet confident in her course of action.

"A year ago I asked you not to be a hero, to not be _you_ while you were in Afghanistan."

"I remember," he said quietly.

"But then you came back and I have seen you be the hero over and over again since then and I realized that it was foolish of me to think you could be anyone but yourself."

He shook his head slightly, "Not so foolish. People try to be something they aren't all of the time, Bones."

"Not you," she said with conviction. He glanced away guiltily, not altogether sure she was right about that. "But I worry about you all of the time. Something's been bothering you."

His eyes tightened around the edges and he grew tense as he prepared to respond to her indirect question. "Karnick. That whole situation kind of got me thinking about what I needed to do. It forced me to come to terms with a decision."

"You were right to kill him, Booth. I know you don't like it, but it was justified."

"You know I'd kill for you, Bones," he said seriously.

Brennan looked at him openly, " I know."

He exhaled sharply, squared his shoulders and looked at her in what looked to be pain and frustration. "No, no you _don't_ know. I mean, when I shot Karnick, I didn't aim for his wrist or shoulder or any part of his body that would disable him and still keep you safe."

"You're a good shot, Booth. I assumed you hit exactly what you were aiming at." Somehow, she had the impression that this was not what his point was, though.

"Bones, just – just let me finish, okay?"

She felt his nervousness and beseeching eyes. "Okay," she replied simply.

"I'm saying I could have just injured him, but I didn't. It was short range which means a disabling shot would have been effective in that situation." He paused and gave her a pointed stare. "I hit exactly what I was aiming for."

Bones tilted her head at him. "Are you saying that you regret your decision?"

"No, I definitely do _not_ regret it. I saw his eyes. I knew what he was going to do and how close he was to doing it. I'm saying . . . that I don't know what I would have done if it were anyone else he had been holding hostage." Brennan held his level gaze and tried to process what his underlying message was. She felt that he was struggling to come to terms with something very important and she desperately did not want to say the wrong thing right now.

"You aimed to kill, because it was me?" She asked uncertainly.

Locked into his intensely penetrating eyes, she knew the answer. Her heart beat faster and a fear of what he was going to say next suddenly overwhelmed her. She could not explain how she knew, except that she knew Booth better than she had ever known anyone her entire life – almost better than she knew herself. Her fear constricted her breathing and prevented her from stopping the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"I was depressed after my confession about wanting more with you, but I thought I could get through it. And then you started telling me you needed this break and I was realizing that I wasn't getting through it because I was panicking inside at your words. The timing with the army recruiting me felt like fate when I heard about you going to Maluku." Booth felt his voice increase in volume as words started spilling out. He stood up to pace and he found he couldn't look at Bones, because if he did, he might lose his courage. "God, you had wanted us still to work together and I agreed, but then you turned around and left and it was like our partnership of five years didn't even exist. We didn't even _communicate_ while we were both gone . . ." He was startled by his own forceful tone. He hadn't realized how angry he had been. He involuntarily looked at Bones and his unexpected anger fizzled out within moments. She looked unbearably sad and he felt a horrible ache wrap itself around his entire soul as he anguished over what he knew he had to say next.

"I thought I could move on, but I can't. When I'm around you, everything keeps coming back. Things might not ever have worked out with Hannah, but I can't – " The lump in his throat expanded as he choked back the tears that were coming. "I just gotta try something different, so that I can get a different outcome."

Brennan stared into his deep brown eyes that held such profound sadness which she knew reflected her own. She stood to be next to him. "Booth…"

"We can't work together anymore. _I_ can't work with you anymore."

She fought with herself to balance rationality and emotion. She could get them through this. Her voice still shook, though, when she asked, "Is this like a root canal? Should you give it more time before making a decision?"

He gave a heartbroken smile as his tears fell this time. "Leaving you at the airport a year ago _was_ the root canal. Too many other things were the band-aids and pain medications that never quite worked. I'm sorry. I cannot even express how sorry I am for this. I don't want to hurt you, I—"

She grabbed his hand at that moment and squeezed it. "Booth." She said it quietly and gently, but this time with full command. He stopped talking and stared at the hand that held his. He wasn't going to be able to go through with it. He wasn't strong enough after all.

She spoke again. "What if I suggested that we could work for a different outcome together?"

His heart stopped beating and suspended his breathing for a moment as he dared to consider what she might be saying to him. "What? I . . . I don't know what that means."

She holding his left hand with her right, she brought her other hand up to wipe away the tears that were falling from his pain-filled, deep brown eyes. Her own eyes filled as she told him, "It means that I love you. I want to give us a shot."

She watched his eyes slowly melt and his face smooth into an expression full of dreams and possibility, followed by fear. He pulled his hand away and turned away from her and paced a few steps out. She could see the deep breaths that he was taking as he was looking down at the ground with his hands at his hips. Her own confidence began to falter.

"Booth?"

At her voice he spun around, closed the distance between them in a singe stride, and pulled her into a full, unadulterated, passionate kiss, which she returned with equal fire. When they broke away, for a long moment they merely stared deeply into each other's eyes, drinking in the full scope of their feelings for one another. The burdens and pressures Booth had been carrying for so long fell away as well and with an emotionally choked up voice he breathed out, "I love you."

Brennan gave him an affectionate smile. "I know."

He grinned at her, the grin that filled his face and the far reaches of his eyes and made her heart race joyfully. With a laugh he said, "Of course you do," then kissed her again, with a gentler tenderness. It was a kiss full of hope and promise. One year ago this, _this_ was what he hadn't dared to dream would happen and yet it did. _This_ was how things were supposed to happen and nothing felt more right than that moment.

Booth's phone buzzed in his pocket. Still holding Brennan close, he pulled his phone out and answered, "Booth."

He listened for a minute before responding. "Right. Got it. We're on our way." He disconnected and gave Bones a knowing smile. "We've got a case," he said in a sing-song voice.

She gave him a warm chuckle as they turned to meet their next challenge, hands interlaced and hearts intertwined.

_**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for following this story with me. I truly appreciate it and the wonderful reviews! I am a writer, but this was my first foray into the fanfic genre. Like many other fanfic authors out here, I never thought it would be something I would write, but I woke up with a story, and this was it. It has been a great experience. It is a heady experience to say the least. **_

_**Special thanks to corgipaz for cheerleading me to start this adventure, Mali Bear's Buddy for working with me through it, and jenlovesbones for her continued support and validation of it.**_

_**Special thanks, of course, to Hart Hanson for creating characters that have completely captured my heart.**_


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